Can Bitcoin Really Hit $151,000 by 2021?

Following a monumental year for Bitcoin in 2017, regulators and governments across the planet have voiced their concerns over the volatility of the world’s most renowned cryptocurrency.

As cryptocurrency traders and companies argue over what the future holds for Bitcoin and its prospects in terms of mass adoption. In contrast to the subtle differences credit reporting agencies work against while sticking to agreed fundamental principles, no one is really sure how to approach global or regional regulatory methods when it comes to the blockchain.

Dutch economist for ING Bank believes that Bitcoin will continue to fight its way into the mainstream, but regulators’ concern and a lack of investor faith will be a barrier to growth:

“For Bitcoin to mature, it needs to be brought into the center of regulated space,” Brosens wrote in a report intended for clients to learn more about Bitcoin. “This will require exchanges and bitcoin service providers to conduct proper know-your-customer checks and implement other compliance functions, greatly reducing the supposed privacy advantages of using Bitcoin. Even then, it will be difficult to regulate something that has no head office or legal entity, so governments and regulators may not come to like decentralized financial networks at all.”

With negative coverage regarding the future of Bitcoin a regular feature over the past few weeks, there are few and far between that see things in a different light. One invested observer who believes that the cryptocurrency is set for even bigger things is Marc van der Chjis of Canadian cryptocurrency companies First Coin Capital, Hut8 and First Block Capital.Believing that Bitcoin can reach a staggering $40,000 USD this year, van der Chjis sees a potential rise to an incredible $151,000 by 2021.

“It’s actually not such of a big jump,” he told Yahoo Canada Finance. “In early December, it almost hit $20,000.

“I think it’s going to be bigger than any other payment system in the world and it will be the easiest to use payment system you’ll ever find,” he adds. “I think it’s going to be huge, it’s the next big thing we’re going to see where people are going to make huge money. I think Lightning will be something like the new Google probably. It will change the world as we know it.

“I think a jump of three to four times in 2018 is something that’s very well possible.”

With an extremely likely regulatory stranglehold against Bitcoin expected this year, things could look very different for the cryptocurrency by the end of 2018. With the freedom of loose parameters associated with trading as it stands in Bitcoin, further methods aimed at taxation and security regulation will invariably affect the way investors approach it.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May recently voiced concerns about cryptocurrencies during an interview in Davos, while South Korea’s plans to impose widespan regulatory measures saw a plunge in the price Bitcoin.

For now, things remain speculative. However, the prospects of witnessing the cryptocurrency embark on a similarly wild ride this year as it did in 2017 seem highly improbable.