Bitcoin has been surging as of late. At the time of writing, the world’s number one digital currency by market cap has jumped beyond the $40,000 price for the second time this month, but according to billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya, the currency is just getting started, and $40,000 is nothing compared to where he believes it will go within the next five to ten years.
Chamath Palihapitiya: Bitcoin Will Hit $200,000 Within the Next Decade
In a recent interview with CNBC, Palihapitiya explained that by the year 2031, the digital currency could potentially be trading for a price of roughly $200,000 per unit. At the rate that the cryptocurrency is going, this doesn’t seem like an out-there prediction. In just the last week alone, bitcoin has added about $10,000 to its overall price, and its value has surged exponentially.
Explaining why it could reach this pinnacle, Palihapitiya says that bitcoin is now garnering more a of “safe haven” reputation amongst professional investors. He explains that it is no longer just a speculative asset, and that many individuals do not trust national leaders and are looking to keep their wealth safe given that economies are fragile due to poorly made monetary decisions made in recent years.
He comments:
Every time you see all of this stuff happening, it just reminds you that wow, our leaders are not as trustworthy and reliable as they used to be, and so just in case, we really do need to have some kind of insurance we can keep under our pillow that gives us some access to an uncorrelated hedge.
While bitcoin, at press time, remains a simple hedge tool, Palihapitiya is confident that the currency’s reputation will change and become even greater over time. He further states:
The fabric of society is frayed and until we figure out how to make it better, it’s time to just have a little schmuck insurance on the side.
Palihapitiya has been an avid bitcoin fan for nearly ten years. He first began investing in the cryptocurrency in 2012 and has served as a strong advocate for it ever since. He has even mentioned in the past that he believes bitcoin could reach a price of roughly $1 million before the year 2037.
This would ultimately beat John McAfee’s $1 million price prediction of $1 million for bitcoin by about 17 years. McAfee initially believed that bitcoin would reach this price in the year 2020, and while bitcoin did indeed experience massive growth during this time, the currency failed to hit seven-figure territory, much less six.
A Man Who’s Always Been There for BTC
Palihapitiya also joked during his interview:
Can you play the clip in 2012 and [2013] when [bitcoin] was at 200 and everybody was laughing at me on CNBC every time I would talk about bitcoin?
