Analyst: Bitcoin Is Headed To $100,000

Kay Van-Petersen, an analyst at Saxo Bank, said in December 2016 that bitcoin would reach $2,000 in 2017, a feat achieved in May. Van-Petersen now says bitcoin will be driven by a larger uptake of institutional investors and futures contracts and will reach the $100,000 mark.

“First off, you could argue we have had a proper correction in bitcoin, it has had a 50 percent pull back at one point, which is healthy. But we have still not seen the full effect of the futures contracts,” Van-Petersen said.

According to NBC News, the CME and Cboe both launched bitcoin futures trading contracts last year. The move was seen as a way to get more institutional investors involved in the cryptocurrency market and legitimize it. But trading got off to a light start. Van-Petersen said that more institutions will get on board over time, but it won’t happen quickly.

According to CoinDesk, bitcoin would need to rally over 635 percent from Tuesday’s highest price of $13,601.43 in order to reach the $100,000 mark. Previously, Van-Petersen said that $100,000 could take ten years to hit and bitcoin has been trading sideways since the start of the year. But the Saxo Bank analyst said that the cryptocurrency tends to trade around a certain level before it “re-rates”. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something we are seeing. It’s kind of building a foundation, then will re-rate a bit higher.”

Van-Petersen said that ethereum also is likely to outperform bitcoin this year. “Ethereum came after bitcoin, it has a more unified leadership than bitcoin,” she said. “They seem to be a bit further along the way in regards to forming the solution to scaling issues. And you can see transactions on their side eclipses transactions across other cryptos.”

Ethereum, unlike bitcoin, has a core group of developers who control the way that the technology develops. Some experts say that this will give it longevity and certainty in terms of the way it grows. Van-Petersen, who owns different cryptocurrencies and is a noted bull in the space, joins a chorus of other figures also predicting big price rises for bitcoin.t,

Other major figures have poured cold water on the cryptocurrency space. Legendary investor Warren Buffett told CNBC that cryptocurrencies will come to a “bad ending.” And Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan, famously called bitcoin a “fraud”.