The extraordinary prediction was made by Dr Saifedean Ammous. The bitcoin economist has written about the subject extensively in his book, The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralised Alternative to Central Banking. The Lebanese academic is Professor of Economics at the Lebanese American University and a member of the Centre on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University.
Dr Ammous told Express.co.uk bitcoin allows the technology to recreate the Gold Standard, which he maintained was responsible for “the most transformative and innovative period in human history since the late 18th century and early 19th century”.
The world has never prospered in the same way since it operated under the Gold Standard – during the so-called “Golden period of capitalism” – and bitcoin will one day allow us to return to “the old, unadulterated version of capitalism”, the author argued.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency “is going to offer people a new, hard form of money that cannot be inflated”, he offered.
And the “economic reality” of bitcoin will mean people will be naturally “compelled” to adopt it, in the same way they were compelled to adopt gold, the academic outlined.
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He said: “Bitcoin allows the technology to recreate the economic system the Gold Standard had in a way that is much harder for governments to control and stop.”
He added: “I am not trying to convince institutions and I don’t care about them being convinced.
“I am not here to sell bitcoin – I am an economist who is examining it as a phenomenon and trying to understand all its implications.
“If bitcoin’s economic incentive system continues to work and survive the way it has over the past ten years, it doesn’t matter what mainstream financial institutions think – it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks – it is just going to be economic reality that compels people to act upon it.”
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Dr Ammous’ comments come amid a significant slump in BTC’s price, as the crypto’s value hit its lowest level since October 2017 earlier this month.
Despite the crash, numerous commentators have foretold of a price bounce back and 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.”
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Mr Back’s bullish outlook was reflected by Wall Street analyst Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat, who told CNBC on Tuesday he expected the digital asset to reach $15,000 (£11,733) before the end of 2018.
He said: “There are a few things that could happen that could drive that.
“But these past few days have definitely been a negative development because we are talking about breaking to the downside of momentum.”
Despite the price swings – which are typical of the asset – Dr Ammous said the virtual currency will continue to be a useful store of value over time.
He said: “Bitcoin is not optional. It is here to stay.
“It kicks every other money’s ass because its supply is just completely set.”