The Chief Executive Officer of Luno, Marcus Swanepoel, has predicted that the price of bitcoin may rise to $100,000 before the end of 2021 amid the recent massive gains in the value of the cryptocurrency.
While analysing the recent trends in the cryptocurrency on Monday, he said it was typical for bitcoin prices to surge during periods of economic crisis.
In a statement issued by the company, he said the 2020 global economic crisis played a big role in bitcoin’s surge last year.
The cryptocurrency expert noted that it was unexpected that a plateau or even decrease in price would be reached this year but would not prevent bitcoin from hitting the $50,000 to $100,000 mark by the year’s end.
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Bitcoin more than quadrupled in value in 2020, with its price rising from about $7,000 per bitcoin at the beginning of the year to more than $29,000 by the end of December.
Swanepoel said, “It would not be outlandish to say that we could see something approaching the $100,000 mark before the year’s end. Bitcoin has typically surged in times of economic trouble, which has played a big role in bitcoin’s surge in 2020.”
He added, “Even the most bullish of bitcoin advocates could not have foreseen such a meteoric rise in price in such a short space of time.
“If history has taught us anything, it’s that a surge of price in bitcoin is normally followed by a small pullback before it gears up again for the next price cycle, but evidently the opposite has happened.
According to him, the cryptocurrency has outperformed even the most reliable of safe-havens in gold.
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Luno CEO noted that as more economies around the world print more money and weakening the value of their own currencies bitcoin would continue to serve as a more appealing option to investors.
“One of the biggest challenges still facing cryptocurrency as a whole is its adoption. People still ask what bitcoin is, how does it work, where can they spend it? These are all valid questions, but the greater investment and attention around bitcoin, the broader its appeal becomes the more investors it attracts, and the higher its price,” he said.
He acknowledged that though Bitcoin would still experience some form of volatility, it was in a better place compared to stocks.
“One of the main reasons for this is the people behind the investments compared to just a few years ago. Traditionally, investors in bitcoin have been the enthusiasts – individual investors who banked on the currency being the future of money,” he said.
