TL;DR
- VanEck CEO Jan van Eck projects that Bitcoin’s market cap could reach at least half the value of gold’s market cap in the next five to ten years.
- Investors outside the U.S. are showing increasing interest in BTC due to its disconnection from the SWIFT financial system and U.S. political control.
- The key, according to Van Eck, lies in the evolution of perception and adoption of BTC by traditional finance.
VanEck CEO Jan van Eck has projected that Bitcoin’s market cap could reach at least half the market cap of gold in the next decade. In an interview with Scott Melker, Van Eck explained that although traditional finance (TradFi) still has much to learn about BTC, demand continues to grow, especially outside the United States.
Currently, the market cap of gold stands at approximately $15.7 trillion, while Bitcoin’s market cap is around $1.36 trillion. Van Eck estimates that BTC could reach a market cap of $7.85 trillion in the next five to ten years. This massive growth would depend largely on the acceptance and push that traditional finance gives to the leading cryptocurrency.
Van Eck pointed out that TradFi clients are still confused about BTC and often exhibit inefficient buying and selling behavior, acquiring BTC at price peaks and selling it at lows. This lack of understanding and discipline in portfolio allocation has been an obstacle to the broader adoption of Bitcoin in the traditional financial sector. However, Van Eck is confident that, over time, investment managers will be open and disciplined enough to consider both gold and BTC at the right times in the economic cycle.
Bitcoin Keeps Recovering
On the other hand, Van Eck highlighted that investors outside the United States are showing increasing interest in BTC, partly because it is not tied to the SWIFT financial system, allowing them to avoid the political control associated with the U.S. financial system. This autonomy is seen as a necessary tool by many international investors seeking to diversify their investments and protect themselves against potential political interference.
At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin is trading at $68,950, with a variation of just 0.45% in the last 24 hours. Over the week, the increase reaches 8%. This marks the recovery path BTC has been on, having fallen to $60,000 just under a month ago.
Although there is still a long way to go, the potential for Bitcoin to reach a market cap comparable to gold is real and achievable. The key, according to Van Eck, lies in the evolution of perception and adoption of BTC by traditional finance and global investors.
