Ronnie Moas, the co-founder of Standpoint Research, made a bold prediction on July 5 that Bitcoin would trade for $5,000 by 2018. Now he's made an even bolder forecast for 2018, and today, he's telling us all about it...
When Moas made his $5,000 price prediction, the cryptocurrency was trading for roughly $2,700. Bitcoin had climbed to $4,066.10 on Aug. 14, so Moas upped his forecast once again on that day.
He believed Bitcoin would climb to $7,500 in 2018. Now that Bitcoin opened at $7,403.22 yesterday (Nov. 6), his new target for 2018 is an astounding $11,000.
And for Money Morning readers, we had to make sure you know where he sees Bitcoin prices heading next.
Speaking with Money Morning Economist Garrett Baldwin, Moas covered a wide range of Bitcoin topics, including whether it's in a bubble, his reaction to criticism of Bitcoin by big-name investors and central banks, and what he sees down the road for Bitcoin...
Bitcoin Prices Could Climb to $11,000
On Friday, Nov. 3, Moas hiked his 2018 price target for Bitcoin from $7,500 to $11,000.
Shortly after the announcement, Baldwin caught up with Moas while he was visiting New York to discuss his recent price target and why he thinks that so many critics are wrong about Bitcoin.
Money Morning (MM): There has been a lot of criticism of Bitcoin, people saying that it's in a bubble. What is your reaction to statements by Jamie Dimon, Warren Buffett, and others?
Ronnie Moas (RM): Anyone who is bearish on Bitcoin either doesn't understand it, or they haven't done enough research.
Look at Warren Buffett, who famously said that he doesn't understand technology. He missed out on Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN). Buffett is heavily invested in the stock market, where you're far more likely to be a victim to scams or see bubbles.
Whether it's Jamie Dimon, Buffett, or Prince Al-Waleed bin Tala, they don't know what is going on, or they are part of the crowd of people who once said that people wouldn't buy cell phones.
That they wouldn't surf the Internet. That people wouldn't invest in tractors.
I have to say that Jamie Dimon's business is in the traditional banking industry. The banking system is migrating quickly to blockchain technology, and IMF head Christine Lagarde said she thinks that cryptocurrency can replace the traditional banking system.
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There is no going back. [Trying to go back and replace] crypto with the traditional banking system right now would be like asking me to replace my computer with a typewriter.
MM: What about central bankers that say that there isn't anything backing Bitcoin, that it isn't centralized?
RM: Anyone who asks me about what backs Bitcoin, I ask them, "Well, what is backing the U.S. dollar?" Because the U.S. dollar has fallen by 50% since I was in high school.
It's not easy to have confidence in an asset like the dollar that has lost as much value as it has.
MM: What is the one factor that has you more bullish than your forecast from the summer?
RM: This is the biggest supply/demand imbalance of my lifetime. We're going to have 200 million people around the world trying to purchase a small amount of Bitcoin that is available.
The circulation will be capped at around 21 million, from 16 million coins today. You see thousands of people signing up each day to create wallets.
The demand is incredible, and scarcity plays a big part of this price increase.
I think it will go to $11,000 in 2018, but after a small pullback.
I do think we will see a big uptick after this. I've maintained a value of $50,000 in 2027, and that is conservative.
Right now, there is about $200 trillion in assets. If we see just 2% of this money go into crypto, that will create a $2 trillion valuation, which is about ten times what it is today.
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MM: What do you see as the biggest downside threat for Bitcoin?
RM: Well, if you look far enough down the road, there is a threat that another cryptocurrency - and of the 1,000 cryptocurrencies out there - replaces Bitcoin.
But trying to pick a cryptocurrency that is capable of doing this is like walking into a mall and trying to pick a retailer that is going to replace Amazon.
It's just not going to happen.
The Bottom Line on Ronnie Moas' Bitcoin Predictions: Ronnie Moas is one of the most bullish analysts on Bitcoin. He projects that Bitcoin will surge to $50,000 by 2027. As a result, he anticipates that Bitcoin's ecosystem will surpass the market capitalization of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in the future. Moas argues that Bitcoin is undervalued by about 75%.
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About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.