Price History Gathered On 15/08/2017

Introduction:

Bitcoin has been the hot topic of the year. Beginning January 1st, 2017, Bitcoin was just a bit above $960 per BTC, according to coinmarketcap.com (when you narrow the graph), and it has since soared to over $4,300 just by August 15th, 2017! That’s roughly a 4.5x increase in only 7 1/2 months! Early Bitcoin investors must be going crazy about now, if they weren’t already several months ago.

And that’s not all, Bitcoin’s history at the beginning, started as being practically worthless. Then there was the historic moment on May 22nd, 2010, when 2 pizzas worth about $25 dollars were purchased with 10,000 BTCs! Those same digital tokens would be worth over $43,000,000 US dollars today, only about 7 years later!

It’s had many drops and rises, but the short history of this young, pioneering, cryptocurrency, has been up (ok, with a long slouch in the middle). More details about it’s bumpy ride can be read at 99bitcoins.com. Let’s take a look at what experts and layman alike are predicting for this digital currency, dubbed “digital gold” – in a metaphorical sense of course (we’re the real digital gold)

Bitcoin Future Predictions:

Even with rising prices, it’s been a wild ride, with millions of dollars being made and lost as the price goes up and down. At least as close as last month, July, there was still (and probably still is) concern that Bitcoin may be in a Bubble. According to an article by Fortune.com, on the 11th of July, 2017, BlackRock’s top economists think that Bitcoin and Ethereum look like a bubble. BlackRock is a $5 trillion dollar asset manager, so they’re no foreigners to charts and statistics. And we all know what happened with the Housing Bubble. According to the article:

“Richard Turnill, BlackRock’s global chief investment strategist, waded into what he called “dangerous territory.” “I look at blockchain, I look at the charts, and to me that looks pretty scary, and reminiscent of what we’ve seen before,” he said, referring to the characteristics of previous market bubbles, such as the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.”

The article continued to remark that BlackRock isn’t the first to have alarm over not just Bitcoin’s fast appreciation in value, but of the entire cryptocurrency market in general, which has as a whole followed in the shadow of BTC. Mark Cuban for example stated that he believed BTC was in a Bubble. Michael Novogratz, billionaire investor with 10% of his wealth in Bitcoin and Ethereum, revealed that he had been selling many of his coins, suspecting a while back that the digital currencies had peaked for the year. Mr. Novogratz also said that cryptocurrency “is going to be the single greatest bubble of our lifetime.” During the previous week of Fortune’s article, Goldman Sachs warned that Bitcoin could fall another 19% from the then-current levels, to as low as $1,857. The article also made mention that if the price of cryptocurrencies does drop, it shouldn’t have much of any impact on other assets and the larger economy.

All that said however (and it would be wise to at least take it into consideration), cryptocurrencies aren’t quite your normal assets, nor likely can they be rightly compared to much of anything we’ve seen before (accept perhaps the Dotcom Bubble – which we would also all do very well to remember – a rapid economic growth largely due to rapid internet adaptation, which burst a few years later).

Many disagree with the bubble idea altogether, and argue that Bitcoin will reach unprecedented prices down the road. One of the hottest reasons is the predicted large scale adaptation of cryptocurrencies (particularly BTC), which is already underway. Do remember the Dotcom Bubble.

Bitcoin Short Term Price Predictions: In an article by cnbc.com, on the 14th of August, 2017, Ronnie Moas, a stock researcher of Standpoint (investment & stock research) raised his Bitcoin forecast to $7,500. In late July of this year, his original forecast had been $5,000, but he changed it after the recent soaring price record. The article reveals that he expects the market value of cryptocurrencies to jump up to $2 Trillion (being around $140 billion now), with Bitcoin rising alongside it. The article also stated that: “Moas said he never held any of the stocks he issued reports on, but now all of his investments are in digital currencies.”

According to an article by futurism.com, written on the 16th of August, 2017 (Bali/Singapore/Perth time), says that: “Renowned Bitcoin Trader Says the Currency Will Hit $15,000 in 2017”.

In an article by longforecast.com, they give their Bitcoin price predictions for 2017, 2018, and 2019, BY THE MONTH. Their chart for this month of August 2017 says a $4,024 average, and they predict the month will close at $5,113. Their closing Bitcoin price predictions for June & July 2018, roughly around one year from now are $11,544 USD & $10,584 USD respectively. And their closing prices for June and July of 2019, roughly about two years from now, are $21,356 USD & $17,939 USD respectively. Still a bumpy ride and a volatile asset, but climbing. Please see the longforecast.com chart below, and let’s see how accurate they are in the coming months.

Even on the short term, BTC is looking really exciting.

Bitcoin Long Term Predictions: Things get even more exciting however, if the following reports, analysis, and speculations are to be believed. According to an article by coindesk.com, on the 16th of December, 2013, Cameron Winklevoss said that Bitcoin could hit $40,000 per BTC. The Winklevoss Twins (whom we’ve wrote about), according to the article own an estimated $35 million dollars worth of Bitcoin between them, and at one point in the past claimed to own roughly 1% of all Bitcoins in circulation. They’ve even set up a Bitcoin Trust to help manage their assets and to give more legitimacy to the cryptocurrency. The article states that the twins said in November [of 2016] that the Bitcoin market cap could hit $400 billion. According to the article, Cameron made the following comment in response to a Reddit user (bolding ours):

“Small bull case scenario for Bitcoin is a 400bn USD market cap, so 40,000 USD a coin, but I believe it could be much larger. When this will happen, if it happens, I don’t know, but if it happens, it will probably happen much faster than anyone imagines.”

And in another response to a doubtful Reddit user, Cameron stated:

“I have put my money where my mouth is. I stand to gain as well as lose depending on how the future unfolds. Having skin in the game is called accountability. Bitcoin is way too large for one single person to be able to manipulate it by talking their book.”

The article further revealed that at that time, Cameron said that he had not invested in any altcoins.

According to another article by cnbc.com, on the 31st of May, 2017, an analyst at Saxo Bank, Kay Van-Petersen, said in December of 2016 that Bitcoin would hit $2,000 in 2017. That was a 165 percent price prediction, when BTC’s price was still at $754. The same analyst is now making a long term prediction for Bitcoin, predicting that the cryptocurrency could hit $100,000 in the next 10 years – around a 3,483 percent rise from the price resulting from the recent bull rally, according to the article. The same analyst is also said to have stated that Bitcoin could make up 10 percent of the $5 trillion average daily volume in the foreign exchange market in 10 years. The article also stated that if this mark is reached, that would also mean it’s market capitalization would be $1.75 trillion. Van-Petersen, according to the article, emphasized that his growth predictions are rough calculations, but that they could be conservative. According to the article:

“This is not a fad, cryptocurrencies are here to stay,” Van-Petersen told CNBC in a phone interview. “There will emerge two to three main ones. Bitcoin will be one of those. And the reason is the first-mover advantage, the scale and the pioneering.”

You can read more on the breakdown of his analysis, and other statements, in the article.

Investopedia.com picked up on the story from cnbc. In their article, posted on the 12th of June, 2017, they said that in 10 years time Bitcoins in circulation could possibly be around 17 million (with a current Bitcoin protocol of a 21 million BTC cap. They also noted that Van-Petersen’s views are not the official views of Saxo Bank.

Perhaps the biggest shock prediction as of yet, was revealed in an article by businessinsider.de, on the 4th of May, 2017. The article reveals that back when it was just $1,600 USD per BTC, the first investor in Snapchat stated that Bitcoin could hit $500,000 USD per BTC by 2030. At that time, the “new high” value was $1,600. The two who suggested this instamate was Jeremy Liew, the first investor in Snapchat, and Peter Smith, the CEO & Co-Founder of Blockchain. In the article, it covers their argument, which is based on increased interest in Bitcoin from a few different factors. The article continues to note some negative and positive news regarding Bitcoin, the fact that some believe that this cryptocurrency is still in it’s early stages, and the article relays the fact that Bitcoin is still extremely volatile, having huge swings up and down.

Conclusion:

All of the above predictions of course come with a lot of uncertainties. And they are all purely speculation. You should never invest more than you are willing to lose in an investment. Bitcoin could go up, or it could potentially crash horribly. Overall, things are looking good, and if you’re going to get on the train, wouldn’t want to wait much longer (again, never invest what you’re not willing to lose). On the other hand, some experts choose not to go with what everyone else is saying. One thing is certain, up or down, BTC will always be one of the most volatile assets (price-wise) on the market, with large percentages going up and down extremely easily. Keep that in mind. Also, one should first gain proper knowledge of investing in general (and potentially get expert advice), as well as specific information on how to safely store and spend Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, as they can become lost, stolen, or invalidated if stored or used improperly, or if you are not informed of certain changes in protocol, etc.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s article,

Have a good rest of the week,

The DinarDirham team.

NOTICE:

DinarDirham is not a financial or investment expert or advisor. The information in the article above is for entertainment purposes and is general information only, and should not be taken as professional advice or as insider information. The information contained in this article may or may not be accurate. Any consequences of any actions taken as a result of the reading of this article, shall in no wise be the responsibility of DinarDirham, but shall be the sole responsibility of the action taker.

References:

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/

https://99bitcoins.com/price-chart-history/

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-pizza-day-celebrating-pizza-bought-10000-btc/

http://fortune.com/2017/07/11/bitcoin-ethereum-price-bubble-blackrock/

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dotcom-bubble.asp

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/14/standpoints-ronnie-moas-raises-bitcoin-price-target-to-7500.html?recirc=taboolainternal

https://longforecast.com/bitcoin-price-predictions-2017-2018-2019-btc-to-usd

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/31/bitcoin-price-forecast-hit-100000-in-10-years.html

http://www.investopedia.com/news/bitcoins-price-could-cross-100000-10-years/

https://www.coindesk.com/cameron-winklevoss-bitcoin-price-40k/

http://www.businessinsider.de/bitcoin-price-could-be-500000-by-2030-first-snapchat-investor-says-2017-3?r=US&IR=T

https://futurism.com/get-ready-renowned-bitcoin-trader-says-the-currency-will-hit-15000-in-2017/