Incoming ten years, Bitcoin is more likely to be $100 than $100,000, Harvard economist says
According to economist and Harvard University professor Kenneth Rogoff, there is a greater chance that the price of bitcoin will drop to $100 in the next ten years than that it will reach $100,000.
“If we leave in ten years, I believe bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is right now… I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now,” Rogoff told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“If you take away the opportunity of money laundering and tax avoidance, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are minimal,” the former chief economist of the Observed the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In relation to the use of digital currency in illegal activities, estimates of the number of illicit transactions involving Bitcoin vary. According to Shone Anstey, co-founder, and president of Blockchain Intelligence Group computed that the level of unlawful transactions had reduced to 20 percent in 2016 and was “significantly less than that” in 2017.
Although he emphasized that it would take time to develop a global framework of regulation, Rogoff claimed that the government regulations will cause a decline in bitcoin prices.
“Global regulation is required. Even if the U.S. cracks down on it and China cracks down, but Japan doesn’t, people will be able to launder money through Japan still,” he said.
CoinDesk, a trade-related website, reports that during Tuesday’s early Asian trading, Bitcoin was trading at about $11,242.61. From a record high of over $19,000 in December of last year, the cost of digital currency has decreased this year.
According to Rogoff, the reason why authorities haven’t actively attempted to regulate bitcoin is because they’re waiting for the technology that will underpin digital currency.
“They want to see the technology progress,” Rogoff said, adding that the private sector has historically “designed everything” in the history of currency, from standardized coinage to paper currency.
As a blockchain technology application that enables the maintenance and recording of transactions, Bitcoin is experiencing significant growth in this area.
However, there have also been claims about the declining value of bitcoin in the past. Before bitcoin sold off in December last year, Rogoff told last October that estimates of the digital currency would “collapse” amid attempts by governments to regulate the space.