With Bitcoin prices climbing 1,140% so far in 2017, everyone wants to talk about cryptocurrency and give their two cents on Bitcoin price predictions.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon will gladly tell you Bitcoin is worth "nothing," and musician Pitbull said in a June 2017 CNBC interview that he's been watching Bitcoin for the last five years.
While Bitcoin is a risky investment, it's also too large of a profit opportunity to ignore. Bitcoin now has a market cap of $200 billion, and early adopters like the Winklevoss twins have turned their $11 million Bitcoin investment in 2013 into $1 billion.
That's why we aren't listening to bankers with ulterior motives or celebrities.
We're rounding up three Bitcoin price predictions from analysts and forward-thinking entrepreneurs who have firsthand experience in the cryptocurrency market.
And the first Bitcoin price prediction comes from one of the most respected analysts in the industry...
Bitcoin Price Projection, No. 3: $20,000
Whenever Standpoint Research founder Ronnie Moas makes a Bitcoin price prediction, we listen.
In July, he predicted Bitcoin prices would reach $5,000 after the Aug. 1 hard fork, when Bitcoin was trading at roughly $3,000 per coin. Since then, he's upped his Bitcoin price forecast all the way to $14,000 on Nov. 21.
But with Bitcoin prices closing in on $12,000, Moas once again hiked his 2018 Bitcoin price forecast, at the end of November, to $20,000.
The well-respected analyst bases his outlook on several factors. He argues that stocks are currently too highly valued, bonds offer little opportunity, and the U.S. dollar continues to devalue over time.
That $20,000 price target sounds bold, but it may be too conservative, according to this next prediction...
Bitcoin Price Projection, No. 2: $40,000
Cryptocurrency billionaire and former money manager Mike Novogratz has been one of the most prominent investors in initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017.
He reiterated on Nov. 27, on CNBC, his call that Bitcoin could hit $40,000 by the end of 2018.
From today's price of $11,958.70, that's a potential profit of 234% in the next 12 months.
Novogratz has argued that institutional investors will soon pour capital into the cryptocurrency market and provide a major price catalyst in the year ahead.
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"The institutionalization of this space is coming. It's coming pretty quick," Novogratz said, according to CryptoCoinNews.com.
Novogratz also predicted Ethereum would trade for $500 by the end of 2017. At $464 per coin, he's not far off.
Moas and Novogratz have very bullish price predictions, at $20,000 and $40,000, respectively.
But when it comes to Bitcoin bulls, no one beats John McAfee...
Bitcoin Price Projection, No. 1: $1 Million
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McAfee, of "McAfee Antivirus" fame, is one of the most well-known supporters of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.
He's currently the chief cybersecurity visionary of MGT Capital Investments Inc. (OTCMKTS: MGTI), a company that mines Bitcoin and builds security products like its "Privacy Phone" smartphone.
McAfee already had a bold Bitcoin price prediction of $500,000 by 2020, but he upped that to $1 million on Nov. 29.
"When I predicted Bitcoin at $500,000 by the end of 2020, it used a model that predicted $5,000 at the end of 2017. BTC has accelerated much faster than my model assumptions. I now predict Bitcoin at $1 million by the end of 2020," McAfee said on Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) on Nov. 29.
From today's Bitcoin price, that's a potential gain of 8,262% in just three years.
Now, McAfee is coy when asked if he's referring to Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash. Businessman Craig Wright, though, believes McAfee is referring to the value of Bitcoin and its forks combined.
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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.