Over the 15 years of its existence, a circle of authoritative experts has formed around cryptocurrencies, who make forecasts of the future with hope (often excessive). Let’s stop at the most daring.

Tim Draper

Tim Draper is a US venture capital legend, co-founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), a billionaire and an incorrigible crypto-optimist. He is an active fan of the blockchain industry since its inception. The financier quite early, in 2013, announced the support of Bitcoin not only in word, but also in deed – he purchased 30,000 BTC for $19 million in 2014 (now it is $935.5 million). In addition to financial investments, he spent a lot of effort on promoting the crypto industry, actively participating in the promotion of the first ICOs, in particular the Tezos coin. He
explained your participation like this:

“I really believe that over time, some of these tokens will improve the world. And I want to make sure the tokens get the proper promotion/attention. I think Tezos is one of those tokens.”

According to the businessman, most of his competitors could not initially invest in ICOs, since their agreements with investors prohibited such risky and obscure investments. And Draper made sure that the contracts in his company would allow for such a thing.

Tim Draper has never skimped on making bold predictions about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies – in 2018 he stated:

“In five years, you will try to buy coffee with fiat currency and be laughed at because you don’t use cryptocurrency.”

Regarding the price of BTC, the billionaire was just as bold: at first he predicted that by 2023 the coin would cost $250,000, and now he simply moved the date to 2025. He supposedly did not expect that bureaucrats in the US would be so aggressive towards Bitcoin.

Michael Novogratz

The head of the blockchain company Galaxu Digital, Michael Novogratz, does not give astronomical forecasts for the growth of bitcoin, but despite this he manages to combine optimism and sober calculation. Most recently, he expressed confidence that BTC will still be able to grow to $40,000 soon (if the SEC’s actions are conducive to this). Michael Hovogratz is sure that against the backdrop of problems plaguing fiat currencies (primarily the US dollar), Bitcoin’s finest hour will certainly come.

Michael Saylor

Bitcoin maximalist Michael J. Saylor, on the contrary, is not stingy in his forecasts. His fresh Bitcoin price prediction sounds simple and sweet:

“The next logical step would be to increase the price tenfold, and then another tenfold. In the end, I am sure that cryptocurrency exchanges will come to their senses and understand: Bitcoin is indeed the dominant asset.”

The businessman’s company MicroStrategy invests steadily and confidently in BTC, guided by the credo: “In any incomprehensible situation, buy Bitcoin.”

Arthur Hayes

The author of unusual predictions. The ex-head of the BitMex exchange, Arthur Hayes, promised Bitcoin an inevitable success (his BTC price forecast in a few years: $ 760,000), explaining this with a curious reason. Artificial intelligence will straighten its shoulders and stop trusting fiat currencies that depend on the will of unpredictable human organisms. Bitcoin against their background looks like a much more reliable tool, which is based on a clear and predictable algorithm. As a result, Bitcoin will become the currency of AI and this will provide BTC with crazy growth.

Robert Kiyosaki

Well-known American entrepreneur and writer Robert Kiyosaki has never hidden his sympathy for Bitcoin. The author of the bestselling book Rich Dad Poor Dad has been predicting the collapse of traditional financial institutions and a huge increase in the value of BTC for many years. In his opinion, the cost of one bitcoin by 2025 will grow to half a million dollars:

“A gigantic collapse is coming. Possible depression. The Fed was forced to print billions of counterfeit money. By 2025, gold at $5,000, silver at $500, and bitcoin at $500,000. Why? Because faith in US dollars, counterfeit money, will be destroyed. Gold and silver are the money of the gods. Bitcoin is a dollar for people.”

Elon Musk

We decided to include eccentric entrepreneur Elon Musk on the list not because of his strange attachment to DogeCoin, but because, judging by his words and actions, the billionaire quite believes in the value of Bitcoin. He invested millions of dollars in BTC, promising that his Tesla company would accept payments in BTC (although the businessman later changed his mind).
It seems that Musk’s enthusiasm waned somewhat when he started talking about the environmental impact of mining. However, as experience shows, public statements often have a double bottom and who knows, maybe the richest person on earth still patronizes DogeCoin and believes in cryptocurrencies. And conflicting tweets only increase the interest of users in Bitcoin.

John McAfee

An American programmer and entrepreneur, another eccentric legend of our time, John McAfee left a noticeable mark in the world of cryptocurrencies during his lifetime. He prophesied a great future for them. According to the businessman’s forecasts, by today, half of the population should have started using cryptocurrencies. In 2017, he promised BTC to rise to a million dollars by the exact date: December 31, 2020. The key to success was to be the limited supply of BTC, which is able to turn the asset into a highly sought after one. However, then McAfee abruptly abandoned his forecast:

“Only an idiot would believe that bitcoin could be worth $1 million.”

The entrepreneur then lamented the technical inferiority of Bitcoin in comparison with new altcoins, shifting his faith to them. Judging by numerous interviews, McAfee was clearly not indifferent to technologies that increase human freedom and protect personal boundaries.

Jameson Lopp

American cypherpunk and programmer Jameson Lopp is known for his unbending optimism about Bitcoin. He also distinguished himself with a bold forecast: he expected growth to $250,000 by 2020. This did not happen, but now Lopp is often included in the lists of the most successful crypto traders and the most adequate market analysts.

Katherine Wood

American investor and founder of the successful company ARK Invest, Catherine Wood has long earned a reputation as a serious market analyst. Her forecast for Bitcoin is $1 million, and the expert adheres to it despite the fact that the conjuncture sometimes gives opposite signals. The main argument is that no matter what, Bitcoin is the main antidote to the modern problems plaguing the financial system, and therefore, despite short-term fluctuations, in the long term, the cryptocurrency looks more advantageous than fiat competitors. Therefore, growth to the coveted million is only a matter of time.

Nayib Bukele

The politician and president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, became quite a well-known figure in the crypto industry due to the fact that in his state he legalized Bitcoin and gave the first cryptocurrency the status of legal tender. Mr. President got into our list of crypto-optimists for doing everything possible to promote cryptocurrencies for a person in such a high position. Bukele put the welfare of the whole country on the line by trusting Bitcoin. And while the trust is justified.

Despite the conflict with the IMF, which many feared, and the forecasts of skeptics about the default of El Salvador at the beginning of the year, in 2023 the government managed to pay off $800 million of external debt. Of course, El Salvador is still far from being a crypto haven. But there is movement in the right direction, and not least thanks to people who believe in “the adventure” that they started.

Conclusion

Despite the difference in the boldness of forecasts, crypto-optimists are united by the belief in the superiority of Bitcoin and some altcoins over traditional currencies. As a rule, the predictions of such persons are simply an assessment of how significant the superiority of BTC is. And in defense of their exact numbers, crypto-optimists can always say that the state, out of fear of a global change in the financial paradigm, puts spokes in the wheels of the industry, so it’s time to be more restrained in their forecasts. In general, the idea of ​​the growth of the BTC rate among the majority of enthusiasts represented is associated with its nature, which is different from government fiat money: limited and predictable emission, the absence of monopoly participants controlling the emission and turnover, as well as the growth in demand for BTC.

We recently compiled a crypto-pessimists hit parade, where we placed the most curious crypto-skeptics. The most optimistic forecasts sometimes need a counterbalance – predictions about the imminent depreciation of cryptocurrencies and doubts about their usefulness for people.

This material and the information in it does not constitute individual or other investment advice. The opinion of the editors may not coincide with the opinions of the author, analytical portals and experts.