Bitcoin to hit $20,000 in 2018 as people ready for high yield risk - analyst

The world's number one digital currency will continue its unstoppable rally and reach $20,000 early next year, the head of the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (RACIB) Yury Pripachkin told RT.

“Forecasting is a thankless job, but the projection I made in the summer that bitcoin would cost $10,000 by the New Year has already come true. I think, it will continue its growth to pass $14,000 by year-end and will reach $20,000 in 2018,” said Pripachkin.

The expert said the surge of bitcoin is connected to the huge amount of cash that has recently entered the crypto market. At least $10 billion poured in just the previous week. Up to 30,000 digital wallets are being created globally every day, according to Pripachkin.

“People believed that digital currency is not a bubble, that it is a feature of the new digital economy and is basically a new cash equivalent. That’s why interest toward cryptocurrencies is linked to two factors: they can be used as a way of saving and as a way of speculating in a good way,” Pripachkin said.

The analyst compared the cryptocurrencies with the existing systems of bonuses and discounts various corporations give to their most loyal clientele. Loyalty points can be spent the same way as rubles or dollars, but they are virtual, and this makes them similar to digital currencies.

“People believe that this equivalent to hard cash will be used as a payment way very soon. We see that giants like Alibaba and Amazon pledged to start accepting bitcoins in the first six months of 2018,” he said.

“This is connected to the launch of futures contracts, which will eliminate the volatility and give an opportunity to forecast the rate and to use it in processing operations,” said the head of the RACIB.

According to Pripachkin, high yields promised by crypto markets are very attractive to people who are ready to channel up to two percent of their funds to speculative operations.

“If one percent of all the money in the world comes to crypto markets, it will provide the necessary liquidity. This year, these markets embraced nearly $60 billion. Next year, the number will double, and demand for cryptocurrencies in different services will trigger further growth,” he said.