Bitcoin to be worth $318,417 by 2025, according to Finder panellists

• 54% of panellists say hyperbitcoinisation will happen by 2050

• 29% say it will happen as soon as 2035

• Bitcoin is set to hit $66,284 by the end of 2021 and $318,417 by 2025

• However BTC is expected to drop to $25,112 over the short term

PRESS RELEASE – Bitcoin (BTC) will overtake fiat currency as the dominant form of global finance (hyperbitcoinisation) by the year 2050, according to the majority of panellists (54%) in Finder's latest Bitcoin Price Predictions Report.

Over a quarter (29%) expect hyperbitcoinisation to happen as soon as 2035, with the panel predicting BTC will be valued at $66,284 by the end of this year.

However, in the short term, bitcoin's value is expected to drop further, with the currency set to fall to $25,112 before prices start to recover – roughly $8,000 less than its price at the time of writing ($32,702).

Thomson Reuter's technologist and futurist, Joseph Raczynski, thinks bitcoin will overtake fiat currency by 2025 and be worth $150,000.

"Some countries will leverage BTC as their primary currency of choice. With fixed circulation, ease of transfer, it will serve them well to move to a "bankless" model inherent in this ecosystem," he said.

However, 44% of panellists, including University of Western Australia associate professor Lee Smales, don't expect BTC to ever become the dominant form of global finance.

"Ultimately I think Bitcoin (and many other cryptocurrency assets) will lose out to central bank digital currencies – many of which will be live by the end of the decade," Smales said.

The panel is bullish on bitcoin's medium and long term prospects, predicting an average valuation of $318,417 at the end of 2025 and a whopping $4.3 million by 2030. However, excluding an incredibly bullish 2030 prediction of $100,000,000 by the head of Blockchain at RealFevr, Pedro Febrero, the average drops to just over $1.4 million.

Arcane Crypto analyst Vetle Lunde gave an above average end of year forecast at $120,000 and thinks BTC will be worth $300,000 at the end of 2025 and $500,000 in 2030.

"We're standing in the midst of the institutionalization of bitcoin. More funds are joining the space, the first country has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, and we have several exchange-listed companies now owning bitcoin. I believe this trend will continue onwards," he said.

Brighton Business School senior lecturer Paul Levy was more tempered in his forecast and thinks BTC will be worth $30,000 by the end of the year, before incrementally increasing to $70,000 by 2030.

"There will be a steady, but not a dramatic increase. Much depends on the stability of the wider global economy and the development of alternative, more regulated cryptocurrencies," he said.

Meanwhile, Coteries Corporation founder David Klinger thinks BTC will increase to $50,000 by the end of the year but will be worth just $5,000 by 2030.

"I feel that short to medium term, the institutional money moving into Bitcoin will be positive for it. However, longer-term I believe Bitcoin will lose its relevance as it is replaced by more environmentally friendly and better KYC/AML digital currencies," he said.

Klinger is part of the 31% on the panel who say environmental concerns will have a significant or very significant impact on Bitcoin's price. He's also part of the 24% who think Bitcoin should move to a more environmentally friendly Proof-of-Stake model, while 21% are unsure and 55% say it shouldn't.

Overall it's the time to buy Bitcoin, according to 55% of panellists, while 38% say it's time to hold, and 7% say it's time to sell.