BTC has fallen to its lowest price since October 2017. Following the price crash, numerous bitcoin analysts have predicted a bounce back in value. Some forecasters are bullish in their outlook in anticipation of a major market turnaround.
Adam Back, co-founder of the blockchain firm Blockstream, gave an explosive prediction, saying BTC would experience a meteoric rise in value “in the years ahead”.
He said on Twitter: “Personally I consider $250k-$500k/BTC plausible in the years ahead.”
Mr Back was responding to fellow bitcoin enthusiast Bobby Lee, who speculated the overall value of bitcoin could overtake the value of gold in the coming years.
Mr Lee’s views are mirrored by bitcoin economist, Dr Saifedean Ammous, who told Express.co.uk bitcoin could one day allow the world to return to the so-called “Golden Era of capitalism”.
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Dr Ammous explained bitcoin – the “hardest money on earth” – allows the technology to recreate the Gold Standard, which he maintained was responsible for the single most significant period of innovation in human history.
The world has never prospered in the same way since it operated under the Gold Standard and bitcoin will one day allow us to return to a similar system, the author argued.
Bitcoin’s recent slump in value also failed to deter the bullish outlook of Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, who revealed he expected the digital asset to reach $15,000 (£11,733) before the end of 2018.
The Wall Street strategist told CNBC on Tuesday: “There’s a few things that could happen that could drive that.
“But this past few days has definitely been a negative development because we are talking about breaking to the downside of momentum.”
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Mr Lee foretold of a world where digital assets will be increasingly relevant in an ever more digital world, explaining the cryptocurrency’s mass-scale adoption was in the pipeline.
He said: “I think that digital assets are going to be relevant in a world where growth is increasingly digital.
“So, to me, bitcoin is a real bet on a project where we have 50 million wallets.
“There are five billion visa cards.
“So, I think the runway is really adoption in the future.”
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Other analysts pointed to bitcoin’s typically turbulent price history as a way to explain the recent swing in value.
The sudden plummet in value was not surprising given the typically volatile nature of the world’s leading cryptocurrency, which sometimes experiences vast swings in its value over short periods of time.
Speaking to the Independent, Mati Greemspan, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, said: “What we’re seeing now are the after-effects of the unprecedented rise of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets seen in 2017.
“This year is simply a retracement of that. The same is happening in broader markets as well where tech stocks, for example, are following a similar pattern.
“As with all markets, if prices reach levels that are higher than can be justified they need to pull back.
“These cycles can sometimes be accentuated in the crypto market due to the riskier nature of this nascent industry.
“In the same way previous cycles have not signalled the end for broader markets, these price movements don’t signal the end for cryptoassets.
“We’re still very much at the beginning of the crypto journey. At this stage, volatility is to be expected.”