Bitcoin saw its highest price before December 2017 when the cryptocurrency hit just under $20,000. Mr Chambers, who is the CEO of Online Blockchain plc., outlined the difference between the rally of 2017 and now – insisting the current price increase is not simply people fearing they are missing out.
According to CoinDesk’s bitcoin price index, the world’s largest digital currency was at $12,584.37 at 13:40 on Wednesday.
He told Express.co.uk: “The big difference is this is not a fomo rally. This is not everybody and the kitchen sink, this is not a cab driver trying to pile in on bitcoin because all their mates have made money and they haven’t. This is not a fomo rally.”
Mr Chambers dubbed the price surge as the “Trump safety rally”, adding: “A lot of this is coming out of Iran. So people in China are buying BTC because the trade war is on and there are more talks of ramifications.
“And in Iran, obviously, they are worried about a major attack from America at some point and the Iranian currency is rubbish and you can’t buy gold there anymore.
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“So, you can’t put your money in gold. But you can put it in bitcoin. So that is where the demand is coming from bitcoin.”
According to CoinDesk’s bitcoin price index, the world’s largest digital currency was at $12,584.37 at 13:40 on Wednesday.
Mr Chambers also said there is a “strong possibility” bitcoin will hit past its all-time high to around $23,000 as part of the price increase.
But he said it is likely to stick around the $12,000 mark for a while and then “spike into the mid-twenties”.
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He said: “I’m thinking that the $22,000 to $23,000 mark of bitcoin is a strong possibility.
“But I am also expecting there to be a pause around these levels.”
The cryptocurrency said there is a “good possibility” bitcoin will go “straight through the high” it hit in 2017.
He added: “But I think what we will see is it will have a breather around here. As long as there is trouble with the Gulf in Iran, as long as there is a trade war going on in China, bitcoin is going to increase in popularity.”
“After a pause, it will wake up and there will be another spike into the mid-twenties.”
The price also increased after Facebook announced the launch of its own cryptocurrency called Libra to take on the global dominance of bitcoin.
Mr Chambers said Libra will “take cryptocurrency mainstream” and insisted it is a “massive bullish move” for BTC.
Head of digital assets at Susquehanna Bart Smith said bitcoin being at its highest level in 15 months is not due to Facebook’s Libra but instead due to increased interest in the cryptocurrency.
Mr Smith has previously been critical of the cryptocurrency and said it is “certainly speculative”.
Libra will be managed by a large group of companies including Spotify, Uber and Vodafone.
The wallet, which will be available in WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, will eventually be able to pay bills, buy goods or use public transport.