Bitcoin’s Roller‑Coaster Ride: Professor Carol Alexander Predicts a $100k Future
As Donald Trump looks to reclaim the White House, a sharp‑eyed academic from the University of Sussex is putting an exciting, if a bit wild, price tag on the world’s leading cryptocurrency. Carol Alexander, a professor at the Business School, has been calling Bitcoin’s moves accurately since 2021, and her latest forecast has everyone standing on tiptoe.
Why the Bull Run Is Expected to Keep Gunning
- Election Afterglow: The momentum that surged after the 2024 U.S. election is projected to keep at least BTC, ETH, and DOGE climbing.
- Key Backers: The spotlight on Elon Musk’s occasional Tik‑toke‑style tweets, especially the infamous “Doge Barking at the Moon,” keeps the crypto community in a constant state of anticipation.
- Market Makers: Blackrock and Fidelity’s ETF play is poised to calm volatility, potentially unlocking the $100k milestone before the new administration takes office on January 20, 2025.
Alexander’s Bold Forecast
“If Trump wins, Bitcoin could hit $100k by year’s end,” she told CNBC in January. “But that requires a cooperative environment from Blackrock, Fidelity and the market makers. With that in place, widespread retail participation will soar—though risk is lurking under a new deregulatory wave.”
Historical Accuracy: The Numbers Speak
- 2022: Predicted a drop from $50k to $10k (it actually fell to $14k).
- 2023: Forecasted a rally to $50k (reached $44.7k by December).
- Early 2024: Anticipated an all‑time high of $70k in the summer, then another spike toward $100k at year‑end.
The $400 Billion Surge
More than $400bn has been steered into crypto since the election—possibly a bet on a low‑regulation climate that favors high‑frequency traders. These traders can stir dramatic price swings that advantage big players while leaving everyday investors behind.
The Regulatory Quandary
Professor Alexander, who steers the university’s Quantitative FinTech group, stresses that increased investor protection is crucial.
- Trump’s plan for a national Bitcoin reserve aims to bolster in‑country mining that leans on fossil fuels.
- He could also replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, which would dissolve the “regulation via litigation” approach currently overseen by U.S. market authorities.
- Social media stories from Musk can trigger herd behavior—big spikes followed by swift pulls, like the 2021 Dogecoin surge from 5¢ to 60¢ before falling back to roughly 20¢.
Bottom Line
While the math looks promising—and there’s a genuine excitement brewing—Argentina’s academic voice reminds us of the hidden risks beneath the surface. The bold predictions are a wake‑up call: if the US continues to loosen its regulatory grip, the crypto market could become a wild, yet lucrative, frontier. Traders, tech enthusiasts, and the average investor should keep a keen eye on the next quarter; the next big wave might just crest—or crash.
