Harvard Economist Says Bitcoin More Likely to Reach $100 than $100,000 in Next Ten Years
In the recent past, several economists and financial professional experts have expressed deep concerns over the state of cryptocurrencies. Several warnings have been issued saying that there is a huge bubble in the market which can burst anytime. The thing is that in spite of crypto markets correcting by over 50% since the beginning of 2018, economists still continue to hold their critical stand.
Recently, a former chief economist at International Monetary Fund and a Harvard Professor - Kenneth Rogoff - predicted a devastating fall for Bitcoin in next ten year. While appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program, Rogoff said that the odds of Bitcoin falling to $100 in next ten years are more than it rising to $100,000.
Rogoff said: "I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we're headed out 10 years from now ... I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now.” He further added that "Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small.”
While being critical about his views on Bitcoin, Bitcoin’s use like a means of payments is absolutely null except for the fact that they are highly being used for the activities like tax evasion and money laundering. Rogoff has maintained an ultra-bearish stand on Bitcoin since the very beginning. In October last year, while talking to the Guardian, Rogoff said that the price of Bitcoin is much likely to collapse even if its underlying Blockchain technology continues to thrive.
When asked about the reasons for collapse and price decline, Rogoff said that government regulations will trigger the drop in the Bitcoin prices. He also stressed that it would take a lot of time for all the countries to arrive on one single platform and have a global framework of regulation.
He said: "It really needs to be global regulation. Even if the U.S. cracks down on it and China cracks down, but Japan doesn't, people will be able to still launder money through Japan.”
However, in the existing digital currency landscape, countries are seen a lot divided on their stand when it comes to dealing with cryptocurrencies. Asian giant Japan has legalized Bitcoin trading and its use in the country, while on the other hand, China has shut down all the door leading to any sort of crypto activity.
Earlier this year, the IMF and other big financial institutions have pressed on having a uniform regulatory framework and have asked countries to cooperate in this matter, before things go out of hand.