Are Balaji Srinivasan and Cathie Wood Right About the Future Value of Bitcoin?
The former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Coinbase, is either extremely bullish on Bitcoin, or has other reasons for his tweet that had set off a huge price jump in the cryptocurrency. Balaji Srinivasan is a very influential investor, especially in the tech space. He confirmed last Friday, belief in a bet he made in March that within 90 days, bitcoin would reach $1 million in value per token. At stake in the bet is $2 million. For crypto investors trying to understand the strong conviction going into the wager, they may first need to understand the person behind the tweet.
Who is Balaji Srinivasan
The Indian-born, U.S. raised, tech entrepreneur, investor, and academic has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Srinivasan co-founded a number of startups, including Earn.com which is blockchain payments platform, and the genomics company Counsyl. He has worked as a General Partner at a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and as the Chief Technology Officer at the crypto exchange, Coinbase.
Srinivasan has a large following as a commentator on the subject of technology and its social and political implications. Popular topics of his numerous articles and talks include the future of technology, the rise of decentralized systems, and the potential impact of emerging technologies on society. The tech guru has lectured at Stanford University and has served as an advisor to the FDA and the World Economic Forum.
What is Behind this Forecast?
In an ARK Invest podcast last Friday (April 6), Srinivasan explained bitcoin has good momentum and that he still believes it will reach $ 1 million within a three-month time horizon. He cited the concerns over the regional banking crisis that he believes will destabilize the dollar and cause the Fed to dump more dollars into the system. Fear and inflation in the coming months is the driver. Cathie Wood agreed with the direction and potential for bitcoin to hit $1 million, but her reasons were a bit different. She believes fear will be one driver, but reiterated her call for deflation. “We are very positive about Bitcoin as well. But your forecast was in the context of hyperinflation associated with fiat currencies. Our optimism is more of a function of fears of deflation and counter-party risk. Both of those should accrue to Bitcoin’s benefit,” Wood explained in her company’s podcast.
The bet and the likelihood that bitcoin-will-hit-$1-million-by-summer prediction seems on the surface to be highly improbable. It would take immense capital flows into the cryptocurrency and there is doubt the exchanges would be able to handle the migration of assets. Also, the question of what would prompt the run from traditional currency to cause a skyrocketing bitcoin, has still not been satisfactorily defined.
The one-hour and 17-minute podcast available at the link below under “Sources” is nonetheless thought provoking. These are two well-regarded tech analysts, standing behind something that sounds outlandish.
Another possible explanation for his outward conviction is that this isn’t a risky bet for Balaji. He’s presumed to own a considerable amount of bitcoin. The tick up on news of his bet (bitcoin is up near 25% since his tweet) could more than offset a $2 million loss on the wager. The timing of the value increase in BTC makes it appear that any loss could be self-funded by the attention it may have given the cryptocurrency.
Take Away
Bitcoin is higher than it had been when tech guru Balaji Srinivasan placed his public wager. However, at $28,500 it would still have to rise by $971,500. over the next few months. Supporting the idea that bitcoin is going up substantially, are two tech and disruption gurus whose thoughts are worth considering alongside your own observations.
Managing Editor, Channelchek
Sources