A controversial Russian economist is standing by his wild theory that United States sanctions against Russia will push the Bitcoin price to US$2 million by the beginning of next year.

Vladislav Ginko, who hit hit the headlines earlier this year with his bold predictions, says the Kremlin wants Bitcoin to replace the US dollar as a reserve currency, in a bid to mitigate the sanctions.

“Russia has already started buying Bitcoin a lot,” Mr Ginko said.

“My meter shows that it’s reached 9.3 billion in USD equivalents.”

Ginko’s ‘inside knowledge’

Mr Ginko says he learned about Russia’s desire to invest in Bitcoin while teaching corporate finance classes in Moscow.

“(I speak with) professional investors working for the state and in big private companies,” Mr Ginko told Micky.

“We discuss such things, I’ve got info from them, (and) after I juxtapose it with other sources of info … I come to some figures.”

How United States sanctions will spark the rally

Mr Ginko believes United State sanctions against Russia will cause the enormous bull-run that will send the Bitcoin price towards US$2 million.

“I believe that Trump will be forced to introduce severe sanctions against Russia’s economy … and this will bring about colossal demand for Bitcoin inside Russia,” Mr Ginko said.

“I consider that Trump, being fearful of impeachment, will kick-off such measures, then it’ll lead immediately (to) a skyrocketing demand for Bitcoins.”

Mr Ginko, who claims he doesn’t own Bitcoin due to the position he holds in Moscow, says the reason big money hasn’t fully flowed into the digital currency is that most investors lack confidence in using the new technology.

“The main obstacle is that people who sit on hundreds of millions of dollars have no clue how to buy Bitcoin and are afraid that they’ll lose their money if something went wrong.”

Is Vladislav Ginko legit?

When Micky first interviewed Vladislav Ginko, there were questions about his credibility, however we have spoken to the economist via Skype and can confirm his Twitter account (where he makes all kinds of extraordinary claims) is not a fake.

In the Skype call – which was recorded without any payment to Ginko – the analyst appears to speak to Micky on his way into a TV studio.

In a statement to Micky, Ginko said he is a “famous public figure” in Russia and that he doesn’t answer to the “trolls” who doubt him on the internet.

Similar predictions

John McAfee, the high-profile founder of McAfee Antivirus, is also confident that Bitcoin’s price will skyrocket over the next 12-24 months.

“Anyone who can add and subtract, and who has even the slightest comprehension of point-set topology, knows, absolutely, that it can’t be less than one mil within two years,” Mr McAfee tweeted.

“Does no-one study math anymore? WTF people?”

Bitcoin over $400,000 in two years??? Anyone who can add and subtract, and who has even the slightest comprehension of point-set topology, knows, absolutely, that it can't be less than one mil within two years. Does no-one study math anymore?? WTF people?https://t.co/Jcj3C3SXP4 — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) May 3, 2019

McAfee said the resistance to his Bitcoin price predictions stems from the fact that most people apply the paradigm of the traditional stock market formulas to the crypto market.

“Only an idiot could miss the fact that the crypto market is a brand new paradigm unto itself,” he said.

‘Are we all that stupid?”