In 9 years, BTC could hit $10 M: More side chains vital; Back

• Blockstream CEO Adam Back predicted that BTC could reach $10 M before the sixth Halveing. 
• BTC price has doubled year-on-year since 2013; if the trend continues, it might reach. 

Bitcoin is the darling of the cryptocurrency world, and predictions concerning where it will go in the coming years keep surfacing. After a $1 M prediction from Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood, Blockstream CEO Adam Back said that BTC could reach $10 M by the end of its sixth halving in 2023 if the wallet infrastructure and the Bitcoin layer-2 technology ameliorate. 

Bitcoin Core contributor Adam Back shared a Twitter thread on February 12, 2023, explaining to his 509,000 followers as to what situations could drive Hal Finney’s prediction of $10 million to be true. 

Adam argued that since BTC price has doubled by year-on-year average since 2013, and if this projection continues, Bitcoin could reach the prediction mark of $10 million, with a whopping $200 trillion market cap in roughly nine years. 

If Bitcoin is to touch the dream mark, major improvements in layer-2 technologies and the wallet infrastructure must be made, and the candle must be burnt at both ends. Further adding to the explanation, Back said:

“I think things will get “interesting” over the next two halvings, and fast. We don’t have much time to scale tech. We need somewhere for the next billion users to own UTXO, their own keys, with censorship-resistant cold storage, without weakening main-chain security.”

He referred to the side chains or drive chains as a tradeoff with a more lightning optimization scenario. Also, as the technology takes some time to mature, interop and integrate fully, there is not much time left.

He also believes that the world’s leading cryptocurrency adoption is yet to reach the bottom of the S-curve. Merely 1-2% of the world population indulges in bitcoin. Further predicting that more investors might start stacking BTC in cold storage wallets. 

Adam Back further hints that the next adoption wave could come from a concept he describes as “hyperbitcoinization spurts.” A scenario where people would rush toward Bitcoin in a hyperinflationary environment. He also believes that inflation in fiat currencies may fuel the drive in people to buy and hold Bitcoin.  

He felt saddened that the efforts to financialize bitcoin had failed. By this time, BTC could have been used in mortgages, where property could be used as collateral and BTC as the interest. The immaturity in the bitcoin-native financialization is troubling. Financial products structured around BTC, real-estates backed by mortgages, while interest endorsed by BTC. Such products fuel the adoption and create growth. 

To reach the $10 million mark, the coin must displace some noteworthy proportions of store-of-value premiums in bonds, gold, real estate, and stock portfolios. BTC was trading at $21,640.09 at the time of writing.

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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