Jack Mallers. Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin could be headed to $1 million after a tsunami of newly printed cash drives up all asset prices, according to Strike CEO Jack Mallers.
The executive, whose payments app lets people remit fiat currency around the world on Bitcoin rails, said in a Friday interview that money printing will be required to bail out the U.S. bond market, which he claims is “in trouble for the first time in modern financial history.”
According to Mallers, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have two options: either let the banking system fail, or print their way out of the mess.
“I think historically, governments and empires have picked inflation running hot,” he said. “I expect inflation to run hot, and the currency to be debased.”
The CEO claimed that the entire banking system is “insolvent,” including JPMorgan and Bank of America.
In March 2023, institutions like Silicon Valley Bank collapsed after experiencing a run on withdrawals. The collapse was spurred by revelations that they’d realized a massive loss on their underwater long-term bonds, which plummeted in value after the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates the year prior.
“The central banks and government is going to try and save that market,” Mallers argued. The liquidity required for the rescue may equal “two or three Covids,” he said, which would boost asset prices as a byproduct.
“I think $250,000 to $1,000,000 is the imagination I have, in that range, of just how big (Bitcoin) can get,” he added.
Mallers’ predictions echo those of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, who regularly writes about the precarious tension between inflation and government debt. At Token2049 this month, the essayist claimed that Bitcoin will surge well past $100,000 this cycle, as real interest rates continue to trend negative relative U.S. GDP.
Other industry leaders with price predictions surpassing $1 million include Jan3 CEO Samson Mow, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood.