- Several big names threw their Bitcoin price prediction hats into the air this time last year
- Predictions ranged from $5,000 to $250,000
- Who will be taking home the Fullycrypto Bitcoin Price Prediction Trophy for 2023?
December 2022 brought with it the usual rash of Bitcoin price predictions for the following year, with institutions as well as individuals planting their flags in the ground. Predictions ranged from $5,000 to $250,000, but who will be carrying the Fullycrypto Bitcoin Price Prediction Trophy for 2023?
Let’s find out.
Tim Draper – $250,000 (or thereabouts)
Early investor Draper made his original Bitcoin-to-$250,000 prediction back in 2018, saying it would come to pass within four years. However, with this having failed by some margin, Draper extended his prediction to “before the 2024 halving”.
With Bitcoin being dragged out of the doldrums from $15,000 to $50,000 in 2023, we could say that his prediction is finally coming true. However, with the 2024 halving due in April, Bitcoin is going to have to go some in order to make a 5x within four months.
Erik Voorhees – $40,000 (or thereabouts)
Shapeshift founder Voorhees said in a December 2022 interview that wouldn’t be surprised if Bitcoin hit “like $40K” by the middle of 2023, a feat it actually achieved on December 5. We can therefore say that Voorhees was on the money with the valuation but not with the timing; Bitcoin spent the summer in the $20,000-$30,000 range.
Still, not bad from the crypto veteran.
Standard Chartered – $5,000
Standard Chartered went full-on bear in late 2022, saying that yields would “plunge along with technology shares” in 2023, which would be mirrored by Bitcoin. The resultant sell-off, it argues, would see more firms go under due to insufficient liquidity, leading to “further bankruptcies and a collapse in investor confidence in digital assets”.
The bank’s comments came after Bitcoin had hit what would turn out to be its $15,000 low, before it began its year-long race to $50,000. The bank has slammed its bearishness into reverse in recent months, predicting a $100,000 Bitcoin in 2024, so, you know, watch out.
VanEck – $30,000
ETF and mutual fund manager VanEck said that Bitcoin would $30,000 in the second half of 2023, but not before testing $10,000 first. This, it said, was down to Bitcoin mining pressures continuing to push the price down in the first half of 2023, while it also believed that Ripple would lose its case against the SEC, putting more downward pressure on markets, which would feel the jitters following this ruling. With those pressures gone, Bitcoin would lift in the latter half of 2023 to hit $30,000 en route to the 2024 halving and the next cycle.
Like Standard Chartered, VanEck’s prediction of more lows to come came after Bitcoin had actually bottomed, while its other two claims, that Bitcoin miners would continue to suffer and Ripple would lose against the SEC, also proved to be inaccurate. It was also a bit too far off with its end-of-year prediction for us to give it any further credit.
Sorry lads. Better luck next year.
And the Winner Is…
Despite all our contenders ballsing up their predictions, Erik Voorhees was probably the closest with his vision for how 2023 would play out, so we’ll give it to him this year.
No doubt he’s thrilled.
