While many eye a prosperous future for what is only a budding technology now, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff sees Bitcoin at $100 in 10 years rather than $100,000. The Bitcoin price has long been a speculators playground as predictions fly from all corners.
Rogoff’s prediction lays into the fact that Bitcoin is more hype than sustainable future of money, or technology. He sees regulation being the thing that stiffles its growth and triggers a move towards lower prices.
Rogoff’s view of Bitcoin use is also very narrow as he believes that the majority of Bitcoin transactions are being used for money laundering and tax evasion.
Nefarious
Rogoff’s assertion is:
“I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we're headed out 10 years from now ... I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now," Rogoff told CNBC
He adds that the transactions are mainly used for nefarious ends, contrary to all suggestions otherwise.
"Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small," the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said.
It has been shown that the rate of illegal activities happening with Bitcoin is going down, year-on-year. Shone Anstey, the co-founder and president of Blockchain Intelligence Group, gauged that the level of illegal transactions in Bitcoin had fallen to 20 percent in 2016 and was "significantly less than that" in 2017.
Regulation triggers drop
Rogoff maintains that it will be the global regulatory bodies that see Bitcoin price dropping, but again, he underlines this will happen over a long period of time, and won't be overnight.
"It really needs to be global regulation. Even if the U.S. cracks down on it and China cracks down, but Japan doesn't, people will be able to still launder money through Japan," he said.
Yuri Molchan
Gamza Khanzadaev
Dan Burgin
Alex Dovbnya