Bitcoin
The bitcoin price has surged from lows of around $15,000 per bitcoin, coming within touching distance of $50,000 last month (though billionaire investor Mark Cuban has revealed he's betting on two tiny crypto rivals to bitcoin).
Now, after Fed chair Powell issued a shock warning the U.S. is "on an unsustainable fiscal path," legendary investor Jim Rogers has warned the massive $34 trillion U.S. debt pile means the looming recession will be "the worst in [his] lifetime"—even as experts predict a bitcoin price boom.
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Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned the growing $34 trillion U.S. debt pile is ... [+]
"In 2008, we had a big problem, but the debt everywhere has skyrocketed since then. So the next recession has to be the worst in my lifetime because the debt is so much higher now than it has ever been before in my lifetime. Even China has a lot of debt now," Rogers, who cofounded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management with George Soros, told Kitco.
Over the weekend, the Fed's Powell warned U.S. debt, which has ballooned to a massive, record $34 trillion through the Covid pandemic and lockdowns, is "growing faster than the economy," and the U.S. is "borrowing from future generations." Powell also said he expects the Fed to make three interest rate cuts this year as he tries to guide the economy to a so-called soft landing from the inflation roller coaster.
"The U.S. dollar is not a sound currency anymore," Rogers said. "We're the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. But everybody thinks it's a sound currency, and they think it's a safe haven. So when problems come, people race to a safe haven."
Rogers, who has a dim view of bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and other cryptocurrencies due to his expectation governments will ban them if they ever grow to threaten the dominance of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, said he expects a market crash this year, adding he sees "the signs."
However, a panel of bitcoin, ethereum, XRP and crypto experts have predicted the bitcoin price will surge this year, hitting a peak of new all-time high of $88,000—thanks to a supply shock, Wall Street buyers and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
In coming months, bitcoin will undergo its next halving supply cut, with the number of bitcoin awarded to those who secure the bitcoin network in return for freshly minted bitcoins cut by half.
Last month, the long-awaited arrival of U.S. bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) triggered a bitcoin price boom as Wall Street traders piled into crypto.
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The bitcoin price has rocketed over the last year, roaring back following a crash that wiped $2 ... [+]
The 40-strong panel, surveyed by Finder, returned an average bitcoin price prediction in 2024 of $88,000 per bitcoin, roughly a 28% increase from bitcoin's last peak of almost $70,000.
Daniel Polotsky, the chairman of bitcoin ATM operator CoinFlip and Finder panelist, expects bitcoin to hit a peak of $100,000 in 2024 and points to a number of events that could trigger a bullish market.
"The bitcoin ETF approval for institutional and retirement investors, the halving event, inflationary Fed rate cuts, and ongoing political instability could create a perfect storm for bitcoin in 2024 and 2025," Polotsky said.
