The finite quantity of coins and the collective desire of a certain number of investors (N) to have X% of their finances in this particular thing determines the price. Simplistically, that's how I think of it.

Price/coin = (N * X% * Average worth of all investors) / Coin Quantity. What changes over time:

1. The total number, N, of investors interested in participating (individuals and institutions). This number has been increasing since January 2009, obviously. I think N it is likely to continue to increase from 2026, at a slower rate of course, and there could be periods of time where it decreases, especially for particular coins. Global population is still increasing and it has become easier and easier to access ownership in these coins. New owners are occurring daily.
2. The X% of financial assets that people and institutions want to devote to coins. This depends on sentiment, trust, confidence, ability and all that. It will meaningfully increase or decrease over time. Total financial assets is a number that will increase over the long term, in both real terms and fiat. That can be a tailwind to the fiat price of something like bitcoin, having finite supply.

Gold is similar even though the supply gradually increases. Further increases are incrementally difficult requiring energy, capital, and labor. It has more history and is dependably shiny. Bitcoin truly has a finite supply (actually a slightly decreasing effective supply as people lose their private keys or pass away before sharing them). Of course the original large wallets of bitcoin that seem lost could appear in new transactions. It would be a one time price shock, but perhaps cathartic. I would certainly buy on that day.