Is it time to buy the bitcoin dip? Veteran trader warns of drop to $40,000s before a bottom

Bitcoin could bottom out in early October before climbing to between $250,000 and $300,000 by around 2029, according to a new forecast.

Peter Brandt, a trader with 51 years of experience, told CoinTelegraph on Saturday that bitcoin could stage a roughly $10,000 rebound from current levels before falling below $50,000 — and potentially into the $40,000 range. "It will bottom out around early October," he said.

Brandt said market sentiment has not yet reached the stage of extreme fear needed to mark a true bottom. "Markets don't bottom on neutral sentiment," he said. "The bottom comes on a day of panic and heavy volume."

He added that the real bottom will arrive when even the most committed bitcoin investors throw in the towel, saying things like "the bitcoin era is over" and "bitcoin will never go up again."

On altcoins, Brandt was dismissive. "Bitcoin is crypto — everything else is mostly junk," he said. "Ninety percent of altcoins will ultimately go bankrupt or stay below where they are now."

However, he left open the possibility of a limited altcoin rally through the summer, saying charts show signs that a small altcoin season may be approaching. He noted that Ethereum is showing a bottoming pattern near $18.50 and Cardano near $0.16.

"Nobody knows which coin will lead the rally," he said, advising investors to buy the coins showing the strongest momentum rather than betting on laggards to catch up.

Brandt projected that bitcoin's cycle peak would form in the late summer of 2029, in the $250,000 to $300,000 range. On the widely discussed prediction that bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2030, he pushed back, saying that period would more likely be a bear market. He placed the $1 million milestone further out, in 2031 or 2032.

Brandt also warned on AI shares, which have been drawing heavy investment. "AI valuations are at an absurdly extreme level — no different from the dot-com bubble of 2000," he said. He added that putting all of one's money into AI shares now would lead to regret in two to three years, but cautioned that "bubbles can grow into bigger bubbles, so shorting prematurely is dangerous."

Asked how he would allocate $100,000 across bitcoin, gold and AI shares, Brandt said he would exclude AI shares entirely and split the money equally between gold, silver and bitcoin. "Silver in the mid-$50s and gold below $4,000 are good buying ranges," he said.