Alex Pena/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- 54% of fintech experts surveyed expect bitcoin to overtake currencies issued by central banks in global finance by 2050.
- The move could also take place by 2035, according to 29% of respondents.
- The majority of the panel see bitcoin as currently undervalued, and the price rising this year to $66,284.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Bitcoin, the world’s most traded cryptocurrency, will surpass money issued by central banks as the dominant form of finance worldwide in less than 30 years, according to a panel of fintech specialists.
54% of 42 crypto experts surveyed foresee so-called hyperbitcoinization – or the moment that bitcoin overtakes global finance — occurring by 2050, according to a report Friday from Finder.com, a personal finance comparison site. That event could take place even sooner, by 2035, according to 29% of the respondents.
The projection come during a time of growing interest in the cryptocurrency market among institutional and retail investors and as the majority of the central banks are conducting work on digital currencies, ranging from research to pilot programs.
“Some countries will leverage BTC as their primary currency of choice. With fixed circulation, ease of transfer, it will serve them well to move to a “bankless” model inherent in this ecosystem,” Joseph Raczynski, a Thomson Reuters technologist and futurist, said in Finder.com’s report. He expects by 2025 for bitcoin to overtake fiat currencies and, by then, it priced to be $150,000.
El Salvador is breaking ground with its move in becoming the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Usage will begin in September following approval by lawmakers in June. 55% of the panelists think bitcoin will become the currency of choice in developing nations, with Finder.com asking them about bitcoin’s use in such countries specifically in light of El Salvador’s action and as Venezuelans use bitcoin as a way to beat hyperinflation.
But 44% of 41 respondents don’t think hyperbitcoinization will occur at all. Among them is Lee Smales, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia.
“Ultimately I think Bitcoin (and many other cryptocurrency assets) will lose out to central bank digital currencies – many of which will be live by the end of the decade,” Smales said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told US lawmakers this week that cryptocurrencies have failed to become a viable payment method and that an official US digital currency could undercut the need for cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Powell said a research paper on whether the Fed should establish a digital currency will likely be published in September.
86% of central banks are exploring the benefits and drawbacks of central bank digital currencies, or CBDC, according to a 2020 survey by the Bank for International Settlements.
Looking at bitcoin’s price in 2021, 61% of Finder.com’s panel said bitcoin is currently undervalued. On average, the panel expects bitcoin to climb to $66,284 by the end of the year. Bitcoin on Friday traded below $32,000 and was headed toward its worst weekly performance in more than a month.