Veteran venture capitalist Tim Draper is doubling down on his ultra-bullish bitcoin outlook, predicting the asset will reach $250,000 within the next 18 months.
Draper cited growing adoption and the ongoing devaluation of fiat currencies as the primary forces that will drive the next major rally.
From $4 mining attempts to Mt. Gox losses
Draper’s history with bitcoin stretches back to when the asset traded at just $4.
He partnered with Peter Viscenne to mine BTC, ordering chips from hardware manufacturer Butterfly Labs — but the company allegedly used the chips to mine bitcoin for themselves rather than shipping the equipment.
By the time the hardware finally arrived, bitcoin had already surpassed $30.
Draper then lost his entire stash in the collapse of Mt. Gox, which was the dominant exchange at the time.
The Silk Road auction and a famous call
Undeterred, Draper stepped in during the 2014 US Marshals auction of confiscated Silk Road assets, acquiring coins at $632 each.
Shortly after, he publicly predicted bitcoin would hit $10,000 within three years — a forecast that proved spectacularly accurate despite widespread skepticism at the time.
Defending the $250,000 target
Draper acknowledged that his more recent price targets have missed the mark, but he remains committed to his latest call.
In a recent post, he stated:
“I have reason to believe that Bitcoin will reach $250k in 18 months.”
He pointed to bitcoin’s resilience through past crises, noting it had proven its utility for remittances, paying unbanked workers, and building economies in underserved regions — fundamentals he believes still support a major move higher on the long-term price trajectory.
