Will Bitcoin Reach $1 Million?

If you thought the possibility of bitcoin becoming a global currency was impossible, believing the hype surrounding discussion of bitcoin reaching $1 million is probably less so. 
Before getting too far ahead of ourselves, there’s still a lot that needs to happen in order for the price of bitcoin to reach those levels. As it currently stands, the cryptocurrency is closing in on $3,000–or $2,827.14 as of 8:55 p.m EST on June 8 according to data from Coindesk–and has already increased nearly 200 percent year-to-date. With such an increase, some analysts are projecting the digital currency will close in on $4,000 by the end of 2017.
In other words, the price of bitcoin has reached an all-time high—which appears to be a reoccurring trend this year with the cryptocurrency.

But, what is catapulting its price towards record highs seemingly every week?
As the Investing News Network previously highlighted, there have been a number of contributing factors pushing the bitcoin price up. For example, Japan now accepts the cryptocurrency as a method of payment; Russia is taking steps to make bitcoin a legal method of payment by 2018; and a decision as to whether or not the US Securities and Exchange Commission will implement the Winklevoss bitcoin-exchange traded fund is still looming.
Daniel Masters, chairman of XBT Provider, said in an interview with CNBC that he expects the digital currency to reach $4,000 by the end of the year.
“Bitcoin is emerging as the transactional layer of the internet, as programmable money and as digital gold. That’s the big picture,” he told the publication’s Squawk Box.
While that certainly seems possible—given that price is not that far off from where bitcoin is currently at—others project bitcoin could soar to much greater heights.
In a separate CNBC article, the outlet’s own Jim Cramer said that cyberthreats will eventually cost $1 million, which was in response to Henry Blodget, CEO of Business Insider, who suggested bitcoin will reach $1 million. That said, Blodget didn’t specify when he thinks bitcoin will reach that threshold.
“I think it could because the European banks are frantically trying to buy them so they can pay off ransomware. It’s a short-term way to be able to deal with cybersecurity,” Cramer said. “It is the way to pay off the bad guys.”
Take the WannaCry ransomware attack that hit roughly 300,000 computers last month in over 150 companies.  As previously reported, the ransomware inscribed files on a computer and then demanded a ransom to get them back, such as payment between $300 and $600 bitcoins.
With the rising threat of cyberthreats, is it really enough to push the digital currency as high as $1 million? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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Securities Disclosure: I, Jocelyn Aspa, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.