Kevin O'Leary presented a conditional case for Bitcoin reaching $1 million at the Avalanche Summit, tying the price target to the crypto industry's ability to address quantum computing threats.
O'Leary said the primary obstacle is Q-Day—the point at which quantum computers could potentially forge signatures securing Bitcoin wallets. No such machine currently exists, with estimates for its arrival ranging from the early 2030s onward. He argued that uncertainty about this threat is why large institutional funds typically cap Bitcoin exposure near 3%, treating it as a small portfolio allocation rather than a core holding. He suggested that resolving quantum concerns could change institutional investment thresholds.
O'Leary also revised his earlier thesis on Ethereum. Eighteen months ago, he believed Bitcoin and Ethereum ownership captured 97% of crypto's upside through Ethereum standardization. He now contends this consolidation did not occur and is unlikely to happen, citing concerns about Ethereum's speed and security. Instead, he expects different industries to adopt separate blockchains, with early exchange adoption driving particular blockchain tokens upward by establishing them as settlement infrastructure.
His comments came as the SEC approved an Innovation Exemption for tokenized stocks last week, and as ICE evaluates Avalanche as a potential settlement layer for the NYSE's trading system in development.
Market Activity
Bitcoin traded at $85,700, up 6 percent, while Ethereum rose 6 percent to $2,735. Solana gained 9 percent to $119. Among altcoins, SEI and SUI each climbed 27 percent, with 25 tokens in the top 100 gaining 10 percent or more.
Bitcoin ETFs recorded $433 million in net inflows on Friday. Ethereum ETFs saw $143 million in inflows, and Solana ETFs attracted $48 million.
Regulatory and Exchange Developments
Coinbase filed with the CFTC to list single-stock perpetual futures, beginning with approximately 50 to 60 contracts including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Nvidia, with the review period ending November 2.
The CFTC submitted a crypto prerule to the White House titled "Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets," indicating the agency will build a derivatives framework independently.
Visa is closing a merchant-code loophole that allowed meme coin purchases to earn credit card rewards through certain checkout services, with the grace period ending the following week.
Protocol and Token Activity
Hyperliquid led onchain protocols in weekly revenue at $15.1 million, followed by Pump at $11.89 million. Zcash announced NU7 upgrade targeting November 5, which would reduce block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds to accelerate shielded payment processing.
Grayscale's Zcash ETF announced a 3-for-1 forward split effective September 30 after accumulating over $233 million since its August 25 launch.
