When Ric Edelman makes a prediction, Main Street investors listen. This time, he’s forecasting a massive rally for Bitcoin and Ethereum next year.
“I’m expecting both to rise 50% to 100% in 2026,” Edelman told DL News.
If both hit the upper bound of that prediction, Bitcoin would trade at around $180,000 and Ethereum would topple $6,600.
His call signals growing conviction among traditional finance advisers that crypto’s late-stage 2025 correction is nearly over and institutional buying will drive sharp gains in 2026.
Ric Edelman isn’t your average financial adviser. He’s the founder of Edelman Financial Engines, which manages around $287 billion for about 1.3 million clients. And Edelman is widely influential among the Main Street investment crowd.
He’s a regular on Barron’s list of the world’s most important financial advisors, and hosts a nationally syndicated radio show with upwards of one million weekly listeners. To boot, Edelman is the author of 10 bestselling books on how to build and protect wealth.
OGs and liquidations
For Edelman, two factors kept Bitcoin and Ethereum from rallying as expected this year.
“The increases in adoption and progress in technology were not reflected in their prices in 2025 due to the liquidity events of early larger holders and deleveragers,” Edelman told DL News. “Sustained buying prevented prices from declining more sharply.”
Early Bitcoin and Ethereum holders — those who bought years ago at much lower prices — took profits as Bitcoin approached the six-figure mark. In fact, the selling pressure was far heavier than many would have predicted.
One market watcher who got caught off guard was Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise.
“We were not expecting the amount of selling at $100,000,” he told investors on December 4, while reiterating that his $200,000 price target was still in play for 2026.
Then came the October 10 liquidation event. Nearly $19 billion in leveraged positions got wiped out in a single day, dragging the entire crypto market down. Bitcoin and Ethereum haven’t fully recovered since.
But despite that deleveraging event, digital asset treasuries and relentless buying from exchange-traded funds has kept both cryptos afloat.
“Sustained buying prevented prices from declining more sharply,” Edelman said.
But now that selling pressure is exhausted and leverage has cleared out, “price increases can be expected to resume — and sharply,” he added.
Edelman’s track record
Edelman has made bold crypto calls before.
In 2021, he recommended a 1% allocation to crypto for conservative portfolios. By June 2025, however, Edelman shocked the industry by recommending conservative investors allocate 10% to digital assets, moderate investors assign 25%, and aggressive investors devote 40% of their portfolios to crypto.
“Today I am saying 40%, that’s astonishing,” Edelman said on CNBC at the time. “No one has ever said such a thing.”
The 40% call came at a time when Bitcoin was trading above $100,000. Six months later, it’s slightly below, changing hands at around $92,000. Edelman’s aggressive stance hasn’t paid out yet, but if investors wait until next year, they might be handsomely rewarded.
