According to the CEO of crypto financing firm Nexo, Bitcoin might reach $100,000 within a year.

According to CNBC, Antoni Trenchev believes the world’s largest cryptocurrency will surpass $100,000 “before 12 months.”

He expressed concern about bitcoin’s short-term prospects, implying that it may follow traditional financial markets when the Federal Reserve begins to unwind its huge monetary stimulus program.

But, he warned, this might “provide further fuel to crypto,” as a “collapse” in equities would almost certainly mean the US central bank returns to “easing in no time.”

If Trenchev’s prediction comes true, the price of bitcoin will have to more than double this year.

For what it’s worth, Trenchev forecasted in January 2020 that bitcoin would reach $50,000 by the end of the year. “Everyone was laughing at me,” he recalls.

Trenchev’s prognosis for 2020 did not come true. That year, Bitcoin only managed to reach a high of slightly over $29,000. However, in February 2021, the cryptocurrency surpassed the $50,000 mark.

Crypto enthusiasts argue that the market has matured and that there is sufficient liquidity now that large Wall Street firms such as Jump Trading and Jane Street are flocking to digital assets.

Meanwhile, crypto “whales” like Do Kwon, the co-founder of blockchain firm Terra Labs, are buying bitcoin in the millions in the hopes that it would become a future “reserve” currency.

However, the market is facing significant headwinds. The crypto market is still volatile, and the worldwide regulatory landscape is still fragmented. Bitcoin, in particular, is still highly associated with the stock market, particularly the Nasdaq index. Bitcoin, like equities, may continue to be volatile.

Bitcoin is currently over 40 per cent behind its all-time high of $68,990.90.

Other cryptocurrency professionals believe the price will not rise as much this year.

“In this particular moment in time we are living under, I would say, global uncertainty in the markets, not just the crypto markets, also in the stock markets,” Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Bitfinex, told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday.

“So we are seeing definitely lower volumes on the crypto side … bitcoin volumes have dropped over the last few weeks. So that is quite important as a metric because it tells many whales, many active market participants, participants that were very active before are waiting a little bit on the sidelines.”

According to Ardoino, bitcoin could fall severely below $40,000, but by the end of the year, the digital currency would be “far above” $50,000.

 “I’m a bullish person on bitcoin … I see so much happening in this industry and so many countries interested in bitcoin adoption that I’m really positive,” he said.

(Adapted from CNB|C.com)