The bitcoin price will rocket over the next three years, and cryptocurrency valuations will spike accordingly, says Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO of Circle, a peer-to-peer payments technology company backed by Goldman Sachs.

While Allaire was reticent to set a specific bitcoin price target, he predicts that its value will unquestionably be a lot higher in three years than it is now.

“I don’t make significant price predictions,” Allaire told CNBC on Dec. 14 (video below). “But it’s certainly going to be worth a great deal more than it’s worth today. I am long in the market.”

When asked what will bring people who lost money in the current bear market back to the table, Allaire said it’s because the fundamentals of cryptocurrencies haven’t changed simply because their prices cratered.

Bitcoin a ‘Scarce, Non-Sovereign Store of Value’

Regardless of its daily price, Allaire said bitcoin has a “very significant role” to play as a non-sovereign store of value.

“The key thing with bitcoin is that it is unique in its security and its scale,” Allaire explained. “As an idea that we need a scarce, non-sovereign store of value that individuals can hold in a protected fashion — that’s attractive all around the world.”

While naysayers have gleefully proclaimed the death of bitcoin, Allaire said it would survive over the long haul, and so will other cryptocurrencies.

Allaire said some virtual currencies would die off in an overcrowded market due to competitive forces, but it’s not a zero-sum game where the success of one digital currency means the death of all the others.

‘Tokenization of Everything’ is the Future of Crypto

“I do not think it’s going to be a winner-take-all [scenario],” Allaire said. “We have a phrase: the Tokenization of Everything. We think cryptographic tokens are going to represent every form of financial asset in the world. There will be millions of them in years.”

As CCN.com reported, Mike Novogratz — the founder of crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital — extolled the tokenization of real estate, saying asset tokenization is an emerging trend.

Novogratz said several companies are tokenizing luxury condos in the tony real estate markets of New York and Aspen, Colorado.

“You’re going to see more and more of that,” he vowed. “It’s a part of this broader movement of tokenization, digitalization in blockchain. The blockchain makes a lot possible.”

As Crypto Prices Tumble, Mike Novogratz Pounds the Table on Real Estate Tokenization https://t.co/838mGax8Qn — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) November 16, 2018

When asked when regulation will happen in the crypto industry, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said digital assets have actually been regulated for some time.

“Just to be clear, the US has more regulatory clarity than almost any other market in the world,” he said. “The exchange of digital currency with the banking system has been regulated for over five years.”

Allaire also noted that Circle and Coinbase — the crypto exchange and brokerage giant — are already regulated and have been pushing for sensible, targeted regulation.

“Companies like Circle and Coinbase are regulated under the Bank Secrecy Act and money-transmission laws,” he explained. “That’s very significant from a consumer protection and financial-crimes perspective.”

Bitcoin Unicorn Circle: ‘We Advocate Regulation’

Allaire added: “We [at Circle] are advocating for [regulation]. We have been very active with Congress, with policymakers, with agencies. There’s a lot of engagement.”

As CCN.com reported, the regulatory wheels are already in motion.

Last week, two US representatives introduced legislation to bolster the United States’ position as a leader in the industry, citing the “profound potential” of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to fuel the next economic boom.

US Bills Seeks to Protect Cryptocurrency Investors from Market Manipulation https://t.co/xeTXBHA5vZ — CCN.com (@CCNMarkets) December 7, 2018

Congressmen Darren Soto and Ted Budd urged lawmakers to ensure that the US stay competitive as these new technologies start inching toward mainstream adoption.

“Virtual currencies and the underlying blockchain technology has a profound potential to be a driver of economic growth,” the congressmen said. “That’s why we must ensure that the United States is at the forefront.”

Featured Image from World Economic Forum/YouTube