Bitcoin price passing $1 million means society has collapsed, early investor warns

‘BTC going to infinity means the rest of the Western world has really fallen apart,’ says Mike Novogratz at Bitcoin 2022

Bitcoin saw astonishing price gains in 2021 but has seen a stunted start to 2022 (iStock)

An early bitcoin investor has warned that another stratospheric price rally for bitcoin will only occur if Western society collapses.

Speaking at the opening event of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Florida, Galaxy Investment Partners CEO Mike Novogratz predicted that BTC could reach $1 million in the coming years, though any higher would likely signal the death of the US dollar.

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The cryptocurrency is currently trading at around $45,000, up roughly 800 per cent over the last two years and more than 4,000 per cent over the last five years.

A similar price rise over the next five years would see bitcoin’s value surpass $1 million, though such an eventuality will only happen if society has “fallen apart”, according to Mr Novogratz.

In response to a question from popular crypto commentator Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano about how high bitcoin’s price could potentially go, Mr Novogratz predicted $1 million – a relatively conservative estimate by the standards of some of the crypto evangelists in attendance, including Mr Pompliano.

In response to the crowd applauding the prediction, Mr Pompliano said: “What are you guys clapping about that’s the most bearish person here... It’ll never go over $1 million?”

Anthony ‘Pomp’ Pompliano (left) speaking with Mike Novogratz during the opening session of Bitcoin 2022 in Miami, Florida, on 6 April, 2022 (Bitcoin 2022)

Mr Novogratz justified his guess by referring to the current market cap of gold, which is currently roughly 15 times that of bitcoin.

“Predicting prices is a really complicated thing, so I got myself to half a million because that’s the market cap of gold, but the gold market cap could go up and [bitcoin] could replace gold,” he said.

“In some ways – and this is maybe going to sound heretical to a bitcoin crowd – I go to bed and I pray that the stewards of the US economy don’t screw it up. Because I see what happens to societies when the stewards screw it up: I have Russian friends that have gone bankrupt in literally the last six weeks, that had good livings and they’re gone; I have Turkish friends that have seen their entire life savings blown.

“I really do pray that the dollar stays strong and bitcoin doesn’t go to infinity, because bitcoin going to infinity means the rest of the Western world has really fallen apart and we lose social order.

“But I think we can get to half a million and a million with stability in the West. For us to get a lot higher than that it means stability of the West is gone.”