The CEO of San Francisco-based cryptocurrency trading platform Kraken, Jesse Powell, has revealed he believes the price of bitcoin could hit $1 million over the next 10 years, and in the long-term could “go to infinity.”
In an interview with Bloomberg, Powell argued that people see bitcoin surpass gold as a store of value in the near term, and as such he thinks “a million dollars as a price target within the next 10 years is very reasonable.” Over the long term, however, the CEO sees BTC going much higher, “to infinity.”
During the interview, Powell pointed out that fiat currencies are already showing signs of weakness, and people will start measuring prices in BTC instead of in fiat currency. The price of bitcoin has, over the last few days, struggling to remain above $50,000. It hit a new all-time high above $58,000 last month, but endured a correction that saw it drop to $43,000 before recovering.
The drop is believed to be related to cautious comments from Gary Gensler’s confirmation hearing for his appointment as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler said ensuring cryptocurrency markets are free of fraud and manipulation is a challenge.
Powell seemed unaffected by these price movements, arguing BTC will one day be the world’s reserve currency. He said:
I think true believers will tell you it’s going all the way to the moon, to Mars, and eventually it’ll be the world’s currency.
During the interview, Kraken’s CEO defended BTC’s performance as it has “outperformed everything else in the universe” over the last 10 years. He added he is a long-term holder as there is “no reason to sell bitcoin.”
Kraken Is ‘Certainly on Track to Go Public’
When asked about a recent funding round in which the company’s valuation has risen to $10 billion. Responding to the funding round’s valuation, Powell said he personally believes $10 billion is a “low valuation” and he would “not be interested in selling shares at that price.
He also said Kraken is “certainly on track to go public.” Per his words, it’s cash flow positive and has a very strong balance sheet, and as such its only reason to raise funds could be to “accelerate the pace of acquisitions.”
When asked when Kraken might go public, the CEO said it’s something the firm is exploring. While it may not go public this year, it could “possibly” go public next year. Rival cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is set to go public in the near future via a direct listing.
Featured image via Pixabay.
