Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that he believes Bitcoin has already hit its bottom in the current cycle, and that the price will begin moving higher over the next one to two years before the next halving.
Armstrong made the comment while Bitcoin was consolidating around $78,000. The asset was down 1.7% over 24 hours and had pulled back about 38% from its 2025 all-time high of $126,000. His argument was straightforward: Bitcoin has already absorbed a substantial correction, and the market is now in a window where cyclical forces could start to reassert themselves. In his view, the next major catalyst is the 2028 halving.
Glassnode data points to softer sell pressure
His call was not presented only as a matter of market instinct. The report cited research published by Glassnode on Wednesday showing that Bitcoin had rebounded 23% over the 21 trading days leading up to Sept. 9. Over the same period, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were described as largely flat.
Glassnode also highlighted a resistance band between $83,000 and $86,000. More importantly, the seven-day Sell-Side Risk Ratio fell to 7 basis points per day, less than half the 16 basis points recorded at the August peak.
Based on the figures cited in the article, seller willingness in the $83,000-$86,000 range was down by about 55% from August. That lined up with Armstrong’s broader view that sell pressure has eased and that a bottom may already be in place.
Armstrong’s focus extends beyond Bitcoin
Armstrong also used the interview to outline where Coinbase sees growth outside Bitcoin price action. He said stablecoin payment volume on Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, had risen 700% year over year.
He also referenced expectations that total stablecoin market capitalization could reach $3 trillion by 2030. Against that backdrop, he said Coinbase is concentrating resources on four areas:
- Payments: stablecoin transactions on Base
- Tokenization: putting real-world assets on-chain
- Prediction markets: including event-contract platforms such as Polymarket
- Agentic finance: AI agents handling trading and capital scheduling autonomously
According to the report, Armstrong framed these four segments as Coinbase’s growth engines for 2027 and beyond. The implication was that even if Bitcoin stays range-bound in the near term, the company’s underlying business lines are still accelerating.
The halving narrative remains, but this cycle looks different
Armstrong linked his one- to two-year outlook to the halving cycle, a market narrative the article said has run for 17 years. In past cycles, Bitcoin has often gone on to set new highs within 12 to 24 months after a halving.
Still, the report noted that the market is divided on whether this cycle will follow the same pattern. Large institutional positions after the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate-hike cycle, and geopolitical uncertainty were all listed as variables that did not exist in earlier cycles.
The article also said Armstrong, as the head of a major exchange, naturally holds a bullish stance. Even so, Glassnode’s data was presented as confirming at least one point: sell pressure is easing. Whether $78,000 turns out to be the actual low for this cycle will depend on price action in the coming weeks.
Levels to watch: $86,000 on the upside, $75,000 on the downside
Glassnode said the $83,000 to $86,000 zone remains the key resistance area. If Bitcoin can hold above $86,000 in the coming weeks, Armstrong’s claim that the market has already bottomed would gain more technical support.
If it falls below $75,000 instead, the market would need to reassess that call. The report ended by saying Armstrong’s view may be useful as a reference point for investors, but should not be treated as investment advice.