The cryptocurrency market is still feeling the full effects of a negative market trend, and a number of financial figures have doubled-down on their bearish statements regarding the technology.

The latest of these is the chief economic advisor of the German financial services company Allianz – Mohamad El-Erian – who has now forecasted that Bitcoin ”should” have a value of around $5,000.

More specifically, El-Erian spoke with Yahoo Finance, who called Mohamed El-Erian’s voice a ”well-respected” one, whose market analyses carry substantial weight in economic and financial forums.

Before arguing that Bitcoin would be ”reasonable” if valued at around $5,000, he started off praising both cryptocurrencies and the blockchain.

He therefore stated that ”crypto is not dead, and certainly the underlying technology is not dead,” referring to the substantial market losses experienced across the cryptocurrency spectrum during 2018.

”We’re going to see more widespread adoption, by both the private and public sector, of the blockchain technology and related technologies,” El-Erian continued in the interview.

This is not the first time that observers have pointed to blockchain – the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies – as being an area with immense potential.

Nevertheless, although El-Erian stresses the potential of the blockchain, he then went on to argue that there is a place for Bitcoin – albeit it at a lower valuation than the current one.

El-Erian noted that Bitcoin would be a ”good buy” at $5,000 in his interview with Yahoo Finance – something he previously stated during an interview in June.

The cryptocurrency is currently valued at $6,467 – meaning that if it were to stabilize around $5,000, it would drop by nearly 23% from its current valuation.

El-Erian’s reasoning for this somewhat bearish statement reportedly stems from his belief that ”adoption is not going to be as big and as quick as the proponents of crypto would like”.

”I think it’s going to be there, it’s going to last for a long time, it’s going to play a role in the ecosystem, but it’s not going to be the currency that a lot of proponents would like it to be.”

It remains to be seen whether El-Erian’s prediction comes true – although the price of Bitcoin would only need to drop less than $1,500 to hit it. Nonetheless, El-Erian is far from the only financial figure with gloomy predictions for Bitcoin.

The founder of London Fintech Week, Luis Carranza, has previously predicted that Bitcoin could reach a bottom at a meager $4,500, or even a comparatively abysmal $2,500 during 2018.

Moreover, an analyst from ETX Capital, Neil Welson, has forecasted a ”regulatory crunch” that will hit Bitcoin hard, likening Bitcoin investing to ”trying to catch [a] falling knife”.

This all seems to paint a gloomy picture, but one should remember that there is also a veritable plethora of positive market predictions for both Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market as a whole.

Nevertheless, time will tell whether the bulls’ or the bears’ camp is the right one.

Image Source: “Flickr”