The co-founder of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor, is optimistic that the coming year will witness a groundbreaking period, not only for Bitcoin but also for the entire financial landscape. Saylor, who serves as the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, reasserted his strong support for BTC during an interview with CNBC. He firmly believes that Bitcoin is on the verge of experiencing a price surge that is unprecedented in the history of modern finance.
Saylor’s confidence in Bitcoin’s potential is rooted in several upcoming events related to the cryptocurrency. Firstly, BTC is scheduled to undergo a “halving” event in April, which will reduce the rewards received by BTC miners by 50%. This reduction is expected to significantly limit the influx of newly mined BTC into the market.
Furthermore, there are speculations circulating within the financial industry that the first-ever spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), a long-awaited development yet to receive approval from U.S. regulators, may finally be authorized as early as Christmas. This approval would open the doors for more mainstream investors to access and invest in the cryptocurrency.
“You’re going to see $12 billion of natural selling per year converted into $6 billion of natural selling a year—at the same time as things like spot Bitcoin ETFs increase the demand for Bitcoin,” Saylor said of the near-term BTC climate. “So that’s why all of us are fairly bullish over the next 12 months: demand’s going to increase, supply’s going to contract, and this is fairly unprecedented in the history of Wall Street.”
Saylor elaborated on his conviction that with significant investments from major financial institutions, centralized entities will not only bring stability to BTC but also play a role in bolstering the entire cryptocurrency sector, resulting in a substantial increase in Bitcoin’s value.
Saylor expressed, “As Wall Street banks and trustworthy custodians take charge of BTC, and the industry shifts its focus away from the various speculative tokens that have diverted attention and eroded shareholder value, I believe the industry will advance to a new level, and we could see a tenfold increase from our current position.”
Bitcoin’s Future
BTC has experienced a notable upswing in recent weeks. Towards the end of the previous month, the cryptocurrency saw a remarkable 11% surge, reaching $31,000, largely driven by the excitement surrounding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. This upward momentum has persisted, reaching its zenith at $35,878 in the past week, marking a new record for the year 2023. At the time of writing, according to CoinGecko, BTC is currently valued at $34,903.
In a noteworthy development earlier this week, Bernstein, an investment research firm that had previously been skeptical about BTC’s potential, made a bullish prediction. They forecasted that, given the genuine possibility of a spot Bitcoin ETF gaining approval, the cryptocurrency could reach a value of $150,000 by the year 2025. It’s worth noting that Bitcoin’s all-time high was achieved in November 2021 when it briefly exceeded $69,000.