Bitcoin to $150K? Crypto Founder Says Gold Comparison Is 'Oversold' and Memecoin Fads Are 'Musical Chairs'

Toby Gilbert, who co-founded the crypto exchange PACT SWAP with Tether's Brock Pierce, expects Bitcoin to reach $150,000 (£111,150) within a year. But he rejects the argument most often used to sell it.

Asked whether Bitcoin is a better long-term hold than gold, he answered in a single line. 'The comparison is entirely oversold,' he told IBTimes UK.

Gold traded at about $4,320 (£3,201) an ounce on 14 August, up roughly 29% over the past year. Bitcoin stood near $63,800 (£47,280) at Thursday's close, down about 46% across the same period.

Gold's market is far older and more developed than Bitcoin's, Gilbert said. 'It has always been a safe haven in uncertain times, and these are the most uncertain times of my lifetime and possibly even that of my parents,' he said.

He draws one link between them. Both represent an unbiased asset class, in his account, set against the currencies of specific countries. The global world order is shifting, he said, with significant pushback from the US while the rest of the West is 'entirely discombobulated'.

Why He Still Backs Bitcoin at $150,000

'I still stick to $150k++,' Gilbert said, while adding that he does not like to give predictions. According to him, Bitcoin moves for a specific reason each time—initially due to COVID-19 and the flow of free money that followed, then later influenced by exchange-traded funds and institutional input.

What the next catalyst will be is not clear to him, though he is confident one will arrive. Such triggers, he said, seldom become visible until they are almost upon the market.

US consumer prices rose 0.1% in July and 3.4% over the preceding 12 months, down from 3.5% in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on 12 August. The federal funds rate stands at 3.75%, and markets were pricing roughly a 35% chance of a quarter-point rise in September, down from 55% a week earlier, Trading Economics figures show.

Gilbert said that those pressures have hit institutional inflows. He noted that institutions will respond to Fed policy but did not assume they will drive the next bull run. If retail leads it again, he argues, Bitcoin becomes less likely to be affected by Treasury yields.

What He Tells First-Time Buyers

Gilbert's advice to first-time buyers was about market size. Smaller markets hold less liquidity and swing harder, and big institutions are known for derisking quickly. Retail buyers 'have to be prepared to react quickly' or else commit for the long term. He considers their not pulling out entirely as the strongest sign that the market will endure.

He emphasised that newcomers should do their own research.

'It's one thing to gamble on the next fad, such as memes, which comes with obvious risk similar to musical chairs. It's another to identify workable tech with a high probability of gaining traction in terms of a user base,' Gilbert said. He pointed to Hyperliquid as a project that has managed this.

On Security After the Coldcard Thefts

Gilbert made no attempt to reassure holders worried about theft. In the decentralised space, there is 'little to no recourse,' he said, and scarce insurance. That is the trade-off for controlling your own assets rather than trusting a third party. Attackers will keep looking to exploit weaknesses, in what he called a cat-and-mouse game.

About $130M (£96M) in Bitcoin has been swept from wallets secured by Coldcard hardware devices since 30 July, on-chain tallies by Galaxy Research show.

His own exchange rests on a related argument. Bridges between blockchains have been broken again and again at heavy cost, he said, and each failure sends users back to centralised venues that 'act in a similar way to high street banks.'

PACT SWAP launched with a $5M (£3.7M) commitment from DNA Fund in May 2025 and counts Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and DNA Fund's Scott Walker among its co-founders. Every swap carries a 0.1% fee paid in CWEB, the token of Coinweb, which Gilbert also co-founded.

Separate teams run the two, he said. The exchange's own PACT token was targeted for the first quarter of 2026, and no distribution date has been announced.

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