What will the future hold? Bitcoin price prediction for 2016

The recent decline in Bitcoin’s price came as an expected surprise to many and initiated a lot of social-media based discussion about the future of the world’s most famous cryptocurrency.

The recent BitFenix crash is said to be the cause of the drop, producing widespread panic among traders. However, several tech innovators were quite happy to be able to get their hands on cheap Bitcoin. Kim Dotcom, the founder of MegaUpload (a site taken down due to alleged copyright infringement), took to Twitter to share his opinion on the matter, while referencing the Chinese stock market collapse, the worst seen in the last eight years.

The Bitcoin price has always been hard to estimate due to the cryptocurrency’s many variables, so trying to guess a future value becomes a challenging task. There is no accurate price prediction for Bitcoin, but some people and companies put forth their best guesses all the time.

In order to help our readers get a better grasp of some of the discussions about the Bitcoin price, we have compiled views shared by different companies and cryptocurrency enthusiasts about next year’s price prediction.

Actual worth of Bitcoin

On 11th March 2015, MoneyMorning.com published an article named Bitcoin Price Prediction: Why it’s Only Now Finding the True Value. The article was later on republished by NASDAQ, who added more details, helping to clear some of the misconceptions about Bitcoin’s value.

To understand Bitcoin’s actual worth, NASDAQ mentions findings previously shared by WizSec, a Bitcoin security firm investigating the price surge that happened in late 2013.

Their findings suggested that the main cause behind the Bitcoin price surge was, in fact, a bot named Willy. The bot was apparently responsible for creating multiple accounts on Mt. Gox using fake US dollars to buy large amounts of BTC at regular intervals, ultimately pumping the price.

According to WizSec, Willy alone was responsible for 25 to 90 percent of the total volume being traded on Mt. Gox at the time. The increasing Bitcoin price also tempted Chinese investors and exchanges to invest in Bitcoin, further increasing the price. By the end of January 2014, Willy quickly started selling large amounts of Bitcoin and this led to an unprecedented price fall. People didn’t quite fully understand what was happening back then and, because of that, many misconceptions were formed about the actual worth of Bitcoin.

Now, by understanding why Bitcoin rose to such high prices at the time, we are currently in a better position to predict its future course.

Bitcoin price projections for 2016

The projections for this year have been somewhat realistic following the previous year’s price fluctuations. At the time, the possibility of one Bitcoin being worth $1 million was not considered impossible, but now more than 60 percent of the community believe this is unrealistic.

American securities firm Wedbush recently released a report speculating about the Bitcoin price in 2016. The report claimed that due to cryptocurrency’s potential to cut costs, its demand and use is increasing in the e-commerce, remittance and micropayments industries.

The report predicts that, in future years, Bitcoin will be able to cut down online payment fees from three to eight percent to less than 0.5 percent, while also reducing the cost of remittances from five to 10 percent to less than one percent.

Wedbush estimates that the Bitcoin price will hover around 400 dollars in 2016. The major reasoning behind their claim is the belief in Bitcoin’s ability to take over financial payments such as remittances and online payments.

The company speculates that by 2025 Bitcoin will amount to 10 percent of all online payments, 20 percent of the remittance market and 20 percent of the micropayments market. They concluded that the Bitcoin network will account for almost $596 billion in the financial market.

The views of industry experts

Roger Ver, the cryptocurrency investor and activist known as ‘Bitcoin Jesus’, told 99Bitcoins that he is an optimist and believes that Bitcoin will see higher prices and higher volatility in 2016.

Roger Ver also recently tweeted about Bitcoin making the world a better place: “A better world won’t be won with votes, guns, bombs, or tanks. It will be won with encryption, 3D printing, meshnets, drones, and Bitcoin,” he wrote on social media.

A few days ago, Mathew Roszak, the founding partner of Tally Capital, was recently asked where he sees the Bitcoin price going in the coming year. “I think Bitcoin is one of the greatest mispriced assets I’ve seen in my career,” he said.

Furthermore, he explained that with the growing number of companies, industries and individuals adopting Bitcoin, cryptocurrency offers the best opportunities to the investors and entrepreneurs operating in today’s modern world.

While talking about Bitcoin as an investment, American venture capitalist Tim Draper said that he expects “people to run to Bitcoin the way they do to gold.”

The other reason why Bitcoin is bound to rise is due to the increase in adoption and the fact that there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation. As the usage increases and supply stays constant, the result will be the price going up. The increasing price will make investors want to invest more in the currency, which will further perpetuate the process.

Draper explained that the main reason for Bitcoin price falls is miners selling their BTC to pay for electricity bills. But, although Bitcoin adoption will keep increasing, the ability to directly pay for electricity bills using cryptocurrency will also eventually happen, which in result will help to fix the problem.

According to the above-discussed reasons, Bitcoin is likely to see higher volatility as the market matures and new types of use are invented. While price will steadily rise with a few major falls after two to three months due to any number of events, the general price prediction for Bitcoin in 2016 would be somewhere from $400 to $600 per Bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency’s value is also likely to increase twice as much in a couple of years, so in 2017 the price might be around $1,000 to $1,400.

Let us know your predictions for Bitcoin’s price in 2016 in the comments.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of 99Bitcoins. Consequently, no guarantee is presented or implied as to the accuracy of specific forecasts, projections or predictive statements contained herein.