Bitcoin has yet again achieved a new all-time record high after scaling $9,700 during Monday trading, reaching $9,790.
Figures from CoinMarketCap show that on Sunday the digital currency entered the $9,000 barrier for the first time before scaling to $9,500. However, after a slight dip in value it wasn’t until Monday that it achieved a new high of $9,790, pushing its market cap up to $163.5 billion.
The new price height has many wondering not if, but when bitcoin’s value will hit the $10,000 mark. Last week, billionaire hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz was reported as saying that the cryptocurrency will reach $10,000 before the end of the year. In a previous interview in October, Novogratz, who has compared bitcoin to digital gold in the past, stated that he wouldn’t be surprised if it rose to over $10,000 within the next six to 10 months.
Ronnie Moas, analyst and founder of Standpoint Research, is more bullish in his price predictions. So much so, that he claims the digital currency has the potential to reach $14,000 in 2018. This is a revised figure from his previous $11,000 target.
With bitcoin’s rising value continuing it risen by more than 870 percent this year. Despite this, though, that hasn’t stopped critics from surfacing. According to Asian banking giant DBS, the digital currency is a ‘ponzi scheme.’ Earlier this month, David Gledhill, group chief information officer and head of group technology and operations at Singapore-based DBS Bank, said in an interview that:
We don’t think DBS being in that game right now is going to create a competitive advantage for us.
Whereas, James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, has said that those who believe bitcoin is a stable investment are ‘deluding themselves.’
Despite this, however, venture capital investor Tim Draper, believes that in five years there will be no reason to use fiat currencies as cryptocurrencies will have replaced them. At the beginning of November, he was reported as saying:
In five years, if you try to use fiat currency they will laugh at you. Bitcoin and other cryptocurriences will be so relevant … there will be no reason to have the fiat currencies.
As one of the most active investors in the crypto space, it was initially in a 2014 with Fox Business that Draper predicted that within three years bitcoin would hit $10,000. Considered an ideal ambassador for the bitcoin market, it looks like Draper’s prediction is on route to come true.
Featured image from Shutterstock.