Bitcoin Will Hit $20,000 In 2018, According To Tom Lee

One of the biggest ‘bulls of Bitcoin’ as he is described by analysts, Tom Lee, recently made a new statement in which he again pinpointed another optimistic price target for the most dominant cryptocurrency out there, Bitcoin (BTC).

In his new prediction, while talking to CNBC, Lee stated that Bitcoin has the potential to reach $20,000 this year – despite the struggle of the emerging markets in which BTC (and the other altcoins) are. He also discussed the emerging markets and ETFs like the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF which enables investors to allocate funds into the diverse portfolio of assets and stocks in developing markets and regions.

According to Lee:

“Both really essentially peaked early this year, and they both have been in a downward trend. Until emerging markets begin to turn, I think in some ways that correlation is going to hold and tell us that sort of the risk on mentality is those buyers aren’t buying bitcoin,”

Tom Lee has been known to the crypto market for his optimistic price predictions. Previously, he stated that Bitcoin will reach $25,000 in 2019, after which he corrected the number to $20,000 about a month ago. His company named Fundstrat, on the other hand, issued a report which indicates that Bitcoin could rise to $64,000 next year.

However, he is now confident that the strong performance of assets and ETFs will lead to an increase in the price of BTC, given the correlation between the two especially during 2017, stating:

“So why do we think they’re connected? Well, there is two factors. The first is hedge funds — see hedge funds typically rent emerging market stocks. So they do risk-on, risk-off. So when they’re risk-off, Bitcoin also suffers because they are risk off. The second reason has to do with wealth effect. Wealth effect means that if you are living in an emerging market, and you see your stock market fall hugely, that you will have a lot less money to buy Bitcoin.”

Despite the weak performance of emerging markets like ETFs, Lee expects that the price of Bitcoin will surpass $20,000 by the end of 2018, expecting a massive surge before the year ends – just like the record price movement of BTC in December 2017.