“Looking at the Bitcoin’s performance this year, I believe that the new normal bottom price for Bitcoin is $10 000,” said Nigel Green, CEO and founder of deVere Group, a $12bn advisory giant that launched deVere Crypto in early 2018.
“It bounces at this price. If it fluctuates below this level, it shoots back up again. We have seen this in action (last) Monday when Bitcoin hit $10 500 in a matter of minutes,” he explained.
Green’s comments come against the backdrop of a freefall registered by the digital currency last week, when it went down by over 5%, hovering around $9 500.
Earlier this month, the deVere CEO predicted that Bitcoin could hit $15 000 in the near future. It is a prediction he is now doubling down on.
Despite its surprising fall last week, Green remains optimistic about the currency’s future and value, saying that it could imminently reach $15 000 for four main reasons.
“First, geopolitical issues, such as the US-China trade war and Brexit, are intensifying and investors will increase exposure to decentralised, non-sovereign, secure digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, to shield them from the turmoil taking place in traditional markets,” he explained.
“Second, technical network improvements are further improving performance. Bitcoin’s hash rate has smashed through another new all-time high recently and this fuels investor confidence.
“Third, the 2020 Bitcoin halving will help drive the price skywards. The code for mining Bitcoin halves around every four years and the next one is set for May 2020. When the code halves, miners receive 50% fewer coins every few minutes. History shows that there is typically a considerable Bitcoin surge resulting from halving events.
“And fourth – and perhaps the most important one – is that public awareness is consistently growing. Cryptocurrencies, and in particular Bitcoin, are increasingly part of mainstream finance. This is evidenced not only in the financial sector, in which all major banks are increasingly looking at blockchain and crypto, but with big names within the tech and retail sectors too.”
Green said there was an increasing global acceptance that cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, were not only the future of money, but increasingly the money of today. “This will be reflected in Bitcoin’s new normal bottom price of $10 000,” he said.
Political spotlight
Lately, Bitcoin has been under tremendous political pressure from US President Donald Trump, who despite the world’s leading cryptocurrency recording a 193% year-to-date price run in June, seems determined to ignore it, describing its value as highly volatile and based on thin air.
However, Green slammed Trump’s hostile attitude towards the currency, saying the president was wrong and placing himself on the wrong side of history on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“The blistering pace of the digitalisation of economies and our lives underscores that there will be a growing demand for digital, global, borderless money,” he said.
Furthermore, Green believes that cryptocurrencies could and should dramatically help change the fortunes of Britain’s beleaguered financial services industry for three key reasons.
“Brexit and the lingering uncertainty it has created has inflicted unprecedented damage on the UK’s financial services sector – which makes up about 6.5% of Britain’s overall Gross Domestic Product,” Green said.
This comes as the UK has officially entered into a technical recession, as its economy contracted for two successive quarters.
“Companies across the industry have had to take precautionary action to safeguard their interests. There’s been a steady drain of investment, confidence, talent and activity away from UK financial services – and this is only likely to intensify in the coming months and even more so should the UK leave with no deal,” he explained.
Bitcoin to the rescue?
Yes, believes Green. “First, once outside of the EU, the UK will not be beholden to the bloc’s notoriously slow and burdensome bureaucratic protocols. It could promptly establish its own rules and regulations and set-up an innovative, pro-business, well-regulated market. This could position it alongside other crypto-friendly jurisdictions such as Japan and Switzerland – and ahead of many EU member states,” he said.
“Second, cryptocurrencies – which are digital, global and borderless – are unquestionably the future of money. This is noted by the growing amount of retail and institutional investment into the burgeoning sector. Whilst other jurisdictions focus on the current, the UK should set its sights on the future to be ahead of the game.
“And third, the UK is already a thriving global fintech [financial technology] and blockchain [the tech on which cryptocurrencies run] hub. This should be capitalised on further,” he concluded.