We’ve seen Bitcoin and the rest of other altcoins go on a roller coaster ride this year. From $20,000 in mid-December last 2017, Bitcoin has stumbled all the way to around $5,000 in June. Many are looking forward to the entry of institutional investors in order to get Bitcoin close to where it was last year. However, if you will ask Mohamad El-Erian, an Allianz chief economic advisor, he mentioned that Bitcoin could actually stabilize around $5,000. In the past, he also mentioned that Bitcoin is a good buy at $5,000.
He thinks that the buy value of Bitcoin is at $5,000 and even mentioned that cryptocurrencies are far from dead. He mentioned that what caused the bullish market last year was unnecessary speculations. According to him, “What we’re getting is the realization that adoption is not going to be as big and as quick as the proponents would like. I think it’s going to be there, it’s going to last for a long time, it’s going to play a role in the ecosystem, but it’s not going to be the currency that a lot of proponents would like it to be”.
This statement was quite timely as the entire crypto market went on a bearish correction. The total market capitalization for the crypto industry plummeted by as much as 80 percent since its all-time high that just happened this year. Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and Stellar were among those that have suffered losses in the process.
Bitcoin Could Go Lower
However, not everyone agrees with El-Erian that Bitcoin will stabilize at around $5,000. Though it is true that there are those who believe that institutional investors will help in minimizing volatility, there are those who think that Bitcoin can go lower. Luis Carranza how is the founder of London Fintech Week mentioned that Bitcoin is most likely to bottom at around $2,500. He said that “$4,500 could be the bottom, but nothing is preventing $2,500 from being the bottom”.
Also, there is someone like Nouriel Roubini, the American economist who was able to predict the 2008 stock market crash. He thinks that Bitcoin could go all the way to zero. He said that Bitcoin’s value could potentially drop “all the way to zero” while criticizing Ethereum smart contracts as well.
As for Neil Welson who works as an analyst for ETC Capital, he believes that regulatory changes will not get Bitcoin up but will derail the cryptocurrency. He said that “Selling pressure at the moment is intense as there has been nothing but bad news for bitcoin bulls of late, Trying to catch the falling knife is a risky game”.
Mixed Opinion on Bitcoin
Different experts from different industries have different predictions when it comes to the cryptocurrency. Tom Lee still thinks that Bitcoin getting to $20,000 this year is still possible. With three months left and considering the volatility of cryptocurrencies, everything is still quite possible at this point. He believes that institutional investors will be the key to this bull-run.
As for Jurgen von Hagen of the Unversitat Bonn, he believes that cryptocurrencies present an answer to countries dealing with instability such as that of Iran and Venezuela. He believes that “Cryptocurrencies would become attractive if central bank issued currencies became very unstable. Their widespread use in the financial system would be a result, not a cause, of instability”.
