$1,000? Not enough, prediction expert Vinny Lingham believes that the price of Bitcoin will reach at least $3,000 in 2017

Vinny Lingham, co-founder and CEO of identity management service platform Civic.com, published a blog post yesterday sharing his views on the development of Bitcoin and its price trend in 2017. In his opinion, the price of Bitcoin will double or triple in the next year .

In the past few years, Lingham has been one of the few people in the industry who can accurately analyze the trend of the currency price. In April this year, he wrote in his blog that the market value of Bitcoin will reach 15 billion US dollars before the end of the year. Now, this prediction has really come true. The market value of Bitcoin has repeatedly set new highs and recently officially exceeded 15 billion US dollars.

Reasons for excellent performance

Most mainstream media and analysts have studied the reasons for the rise in the price of Bitcoin from the perspective of economy and finance. The demonetization of currency in India and Venezuela, the strict restrictions on asset management products (WPMs) and the strengthening of capital controls in various countries are all factors that drive Bitcoin's favor. However, Lingham said that most people ignore the impact of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike on the price of Bitcoin.

After the Fed raises interest rates, the value of the US dollar will naturally rise. This phenomenon results in the depreciation of other mainstream currencies such as the RMB and the Japanese yen, which ultimately increases the demand for Bitcoin and causes a sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin.

Therefore, after the Federal Reserve’s second rate hike on December 14, the demand and price of Bitcoin increased significantly, and ultimately the price and market value of the currency hit new highs.

Lingham wrote:

Essentially, the higher the interest rate offered by the Federal Reserve, the greater the demand for Bitcoin. Gold worshippers have favored this safe-haven product for historical reasons and market crises. Gold can often become a store of value in times of economic collapse. However, this situation is limited to inflation caused by the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts for a period of time.

Lingham believes that another factor driving the rise in Bitcoin prices is supply and demand. When the price of the currency was between $800 and $900, the supply of Bitcoin was seriously insufficient, which caused the price of the currency to break the $900 mark instantly. As of press time, the price of Bitcoin is close to $1,000.

Lingham: Bitcoin Predictions for 2017

Overall, Lingham is positive about Bitcoin’s price, stability, value, and development in the new year:

I think the price of Bitcoin (USD/BTC) will double or triple in 2017. Relative to other currencies, this could be a 4-7x increase. However, I still think that the price of USD to Bitcoin should be used as a benchmark to measure the price of currencies.

He believes that Bitcoin will not be very volatile in the future and will be a reliable means of preserving value. Precisely because of its low volatility, the price of the currency will continue to rise steadily.

2017 could also be the year of regulation for Bitcoin. Lingham explained that some countries may ban or at least restrict Bitcoin trading. However, such policies could further boost demand for Bitcoin in the black market, which is a positive driver.

Finally, based on the current price increase and long-term trend analysis, Lingham predicts that the price of Bitcoin (USD/BTC) may reach $3,000 or triple the current price in 2017. He emphasizes that the price of other fiat currencies against Bitcoin may increase four to seven times.