Former Wall Street trader Max Keiser kicked off the week with a bullish prediction for bitcoin, claiming that the currency could cross $15,000 over a general growing distrust in centralized frameworks. 

Bitcoin Could Cross $15,000

Keiser, who hosts the program the Keiser Report, published a tweet on Aug 3 claiming that he “sensed #Bitcoin will cross $15,000 this week.” He supported the prediction by saying that confidence in centralized frameworks, such as governments and central banks is plummeting to its lowest point. The end result is that people are putting less faith in fiat and turning bitcoin as an alternative. 

The former Wall Street trader also claims to have put his money where his mouth is. In a subsequent tweet, Kesier responded that he had just “burned another $10,000 in $USD shitcoin.” He also poked fun at the idea that by doing so, he would inevitably cause the price of BTC to go up. 

When challenged by another user over his prediction, Keiser explained that his trading strategy is to not time the market but to “stack sats every day.”

‘Perfect’ Storm for Bitcoin

While Keiser’s prediction may come across as more tongue-in-cheek than technical analysis, he is supported by similar research published by the Delphi Digital Group on Aug 1. According to their report, current trends in the global economy are contributing to a “perfect storm” for the price of bitcoin. 

Delphi Digital cites monetary easing and the potential of a global economic downturn as generating increased interest in bitcoin as ‘digital gold.’

According to the report, 

“The rising risk of currency devaluation, especially among reserve currencies, is a longer-term catalyst that should propel BTC higher along with gold.”

The report continues, 

“The global slowdown everyone feared was on the horizon has begun to show up in the economic data as well…Increased stimulus measures are likely to get more extreme this time around given the already low starting point for short-term interest rates.”

While Kesier’s prediction of reaching $15,000 by the end of this week may be aggressive in its timing, it’s not outlandish in the context of other analysts forecasting. Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead said bitcoin had a “good shot” at reaching $42,000 by the end of 2019.