This Wall Street "veteran" analyst made a surprising prediction that Bitcoin will break $6,000 next year

Can Bitcoin still go up? Tom Lee, former JPMorgan Chase US equity strategist and current Fundstrat managing partner, thinks: Yes! And it will far exceed the current price.

Bitcoin has risen by about 330% this year. After surviving the "hard fork" crisis, Bitcoin once rose to a record high of $4,500.

Tom Lee predicts that the price of Bitcoin will rise to $6,000 by mid-2018 and to $25,000 by 2022.

Increased transactions push up Bitcoin price

In an email to clients on Friday, Lee said he believed that the increase in accounts and trading activity would drive up the price of bitcoin, with the number of bitcoin trading accounts expected to rise by 50 percent in 2018 and usage per account expected to climb by 30 percent.

Lee wrote: Every 10% increase in accounts increases the value of Bitcoin by $222; every 10% increase in activity in a single account increases the value of Bitcoin by $274.

In addition, Lee said that the driving force behind the rise of Bitcoin also comes from the improvement of trading platforms, the increase in public acceptance, and the coverage of supervision. On August 17, Australia included digital currency exchanges in the supervision of the Australian Transaction Reports Analysis Center. Earlier this year, Japan also passed a law to accept the use of Bitcoin as legal tender.

“Given the recent regulatory approvals, the number of institutional Bitcoin holders will increase significantly over the next 6-8 months. This will undoubtedly increase the overall trading volume of Bitcoin.”

However, he also warned that short-term overbought conditions have brought Bitcoin prices close to adjustment, and that we should be wary of another consolidation period until the end of August.

Lee, one of the first major Wall Street strategists to cover Bitcoin research, said in July that digital cryptocurrencies are replacing demand for gold and that Bitcoin prices will be between $20,000 and $55,000 in 2022.

Could it possibly rise to $1 million?

The crazy rise of Bitcoin has made many investment tycoons optimistic about its appreciation potential, and some even predict that Bitcoin will rise to 1 million US dollars.

Wences Casares, CEO of Bitcoin wallet Xapo, mentioned in a speech in May that the price of Bitcoin could reach $1 million within 10 years. He said that all you need to do is take out 1% of your savings to buy Bitcoin.

“If the price of Bitcoin falls, most people can afford a 1% loss; if the price goes up, then you’re a millionaire.”

CNBC host Jim Cramer expressed a similar view on his show in June, arguing that companies would store digital currencies for potential cybersecurity and that the price of digital currencies could reach $1 million.

In addition, Forbes reported that legendary investor Bill Millerye already holds Bitcoin. Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said in an interview with CNBC last month that he is also using Coinbase to buy Bitcoin.