Former Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan has made a millionaire bet on the price of Bitcoin (BTC) over the next 90 days, predicting that the cryptocurrency’s price will reach $1 million on June 17.
That bet started on March 17, when the pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock was there to bet anyone $ 1 million that the United States will not experience hyperinflation. A few hours later, Coinbase’s former CTO accepted the bet.
Sir, I believe we have a deal https://t.co/9JYaLNo9Eq
– James Medlock (@jdcmedlock) March 18, 2023
Under the proposed terms, if the Bitcoin price fails to reach $1 million by June 17, Medlock will win $1 million worth of stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) pegged to the dollar and 1 BTC. Similarly, if Bitcoin is worth at least $1 million on that date, Balaji can keep 1 BTC and $1 million in USDC. Srinivasan explained in the thread:
“You buy 1 BTC. I will send you $1M USD. This is about ~40:1 probability because 1 BTC is worth ~$26k. That’s 90 days.”
Related: Banking crisis: What does it mean for crypto?
As a thread, another Twitter user helped set up a smart contract with betting terms. Srinivasan also revealed that he will move another $1 million in USDC for another bet on the same topic:
“I transferred $2M to USDC for a bet. I will do it with Medlock and others, enough to prove the point. See my next tweet. Others should buy Bitcoin, because it will be cheaper. you lock one for 90 days.”
Medlock and Srinivasan made the bet based on their differing views on the future of the US economy amid uncertainty about the country’s banking system.
Srinivasan argue that there is an impending crisis that will lead to a deflation of the US dollar, and thus, a hyperinflation scenario that will lead to the price of BTC reaching $1 million. Medlock, on the other hand, is bearish about the impending hyperinflation in the country.
Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin has reached $27,387 at the time of writing, with the market capitalization increasing over $194 billion year-to-date for a growth of 66% in 2023, outperforming Wall Street bank stocks amid fears of a global banking crisis.
Also, for the first time in a year, the BTC price has moved away from the United States stocks, rising by about 65% compared to the S&P 500’s 2.5% and the Nasdaq’s 15% decline, Cointelegraph reported.