Bitcoin’s plunge in value during 2014 may have been worse than the Russian ruble, and its detractors have branded it as the year’s worst investment, but only some of them predicted it — and other predictions of how the cryptocurrency would do in 2014 were all over the map, according to Money.
For example, most of CoinDesk readers, who are largely cryptocurrency fans, said in a January 2014 poll that one Bitcoin would reach a value of $10,000 before the end of the year. But that 56 percent were countered by 31 percent who found that “unlikely” — and another 13 percent who responded “WTF are you smokin’?”
On New Year’s Eve 2014, Bitcoin was trading at about $315.
But Bitcoin fans weren’t alone. Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch assessed a Bitcoin’s maximum fair market value at $1,300, while the India branch of Lightspeed Venture Partners predicted Bitcoin hitting between $4,000 and $5,000 by the end of 2014.
And one goldbug newsletter predicted that a Bitcoin would hit $2,500. (It also predicted a growing Russian economy and that gold would hit $1,800 an ounce.)
On the other hand, Boston University School of Management lecturer Mark T. Williams, a well-known Bitcoin bear, said that by the middle of 2014 Bitcoin would hit $10. His prediction was off by a greater factor than all but the most wildly enthusiastic Bitcoin fans.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More