Speaking at CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) argued that if the cryptocurrency stops being used to launder money and evade taxes, its “actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small.”
He said:
“I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we’re headed out 10 years from now … I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now.”
Bitcoin has indeed been associated with illicit activities such as money laundering and tax evasion. Expert estimates on the cryptocurrency’s use in these activities vary. As reported by CCN, a 2016 Europol report found no evidence of terrorists using bitcoin.
Moreover, a report from the European Commission to the European Parliament and Council found that terrorists and criminals are barely using bitcoin or ethereum. The report labeled the risk of digital currencies being used to finance terrorism as “moderately significant.”
Nevertheless, according to Rogoff, government regulations would be a trigger for bitcoin’s demise. The economist stressed that developing a global framework of regulations would take time
He might be right. I'm from the camp that feels $100 is just as likely as $1 million, although Bitcoin, if you've been paying attention all these years, hasn't been one to follow the likely outcomes. That incredible ATH we recently saw, and then the plumbing of depths at $6k, those were the less likely outcomes, yet they happened anyway. If I were a betting person (and I guess owning Bitcoin puts me in that category), I'd back Bitcoin to keep going against the grain and do the unlikely.