Bitcoin price will go to $1 million by 2028.
That’s according to Arthur Hayes, who predicted that the top cryptocurrency will peak around that price by 2028, ahead of the next US presidential election. The BitMEX co-founder made the comments while speaking at the Salt Conference in London on Wednesday.
“Bitcoin is $1 million plus and Ethereum is $20,000,” Hayes said in response to the question of how high he thought the peak prices will be.
The comments came mere hours after the price of Bitcoin dipped under $100,000 for the first time since May. It is now trading at $103,000, just under 19% lower than its October $126,000 all-time high. Ethereum is trading at $3,340, 32% lower than its August record.
‘The brrr button’
Hayes’ argument hinges on the bet that governments are more likely to pay for their expenses by issuing debt rather than making savings as savings essentially means more taxes.
Raising taxes, as Hayes pointed out in a blog earlier this week, is an unpopular alternative to politicians who want to be re-elected. So, instead, they issue debt.
More debt means that the fiat money supply will go up. Or, to use Hayes’ parlance, central banks will press “the brrr button,” referring to the online meme “money printer goes br”
The result will be that inflation will rise “irrespective of what some manipulated inflation statistics of governments” say, Hayes argued on Wednesday.
Bitcoin then becomes a hedge for investors to protect their money, akin to how people invest in bonds, equities or real estate, Hayes said, repeating the widespread belief among leading Bitcoin investors that the asset is a hedge against inflationary policies
“Everyone intrinsically understands what’s going on,” Hayes said. “It’s just that people choose different things to try to solve the problem.”
Will the rally stop?
The US national debt currently stands at $38 trillion, according to the US Department of Treasury. That’s the highest it’s been since the pandemic.
Yet, Hayes says there’s only a slim chance that politicians will stop issuing debt and thus puncture the Bitcoin rally.
“It’s fixable if you don’t want to be re-elected,” Hayes said.
His reasoning is that if the government stops funding itself with debt and raises taxes, it will trigger a deflation the size of which hasn’t been seen since the 1930s, he said.
Eric Johansson is DL News’ managing editor. Got a tip? Email at eric@dlnews.com.