U.S. Presidential candidate, Donald Trump is certainly not a man afraid of causing a stir in the world’s economies, and that, apparently, also extends to the world of digital currency, namely, Bitcoin.
According to a new report conducted by Juniper Research, global concern over the possible election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. President and other economic concerns, have found that the price of Bitcoin could experience a massive increase.
Trump presidency ranked within Top 10 global risks
According to the study by Juniper Research, they found that the total value of Bitcoin transactions is predicted to exceed $92 billion by the end of 2016, up from less than $27 billion in the previous year.
In a statement, Windsor Holden, head of forecasting & consultancy at Juniper Research said:
“If Donald Trump becomes president of the U.S., there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets – the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks his presidency within the Top 10 global risks. However, bitcoin trading would thrive in such an environment, at least until the impact on major fiat currencies becomes clear.”
Other reasons for Bitcoin value increase
Even though the Economist Intelligence Unit have listed Trump’s possible presidency as a high global risk, former presidential candidate Darryl W. Perry, who spoke to Cointelegraph, and was the first presidential candidate in the U.S. to accept Bitcoin, thinks it’s unlikely that Trump would have an impact.
Darryl W. Perry says to Cointelegraph:
“It seems to be pure speculation that Trump would have more of an impact on the markets than Hillary. Further, I don’t see the President or any elected official impacting the price of Bitcoin unless there is passage of regulations.”
Other reasons for the predicted rise in the price of Bitcoin includes uncertainty over Brexit, China’s weak economy, and the upcoming Bitcoin halving, which Perry believes is likely to have more of an impact on the price of Bitcoin than if Trump became the next president.
Less demand for U.S. dollars - higher price of Bitcoin
However, Jeff Berwick, founder of Canada’s largest website Stockhouse and founder of the Dollar Vigilante, the fastest growing financial newsletter in the world, and the first major financial newsletter to cover Bitcoin regularly in 2011 near $3, said to Cointelegraph that while he predicts that Hillary will win the election, should Trump win and if his ‘protectionist policies’ are implemented, they would have a negative effect on demand for U.S. dollars.
Berwick explains to Cointelegraph:
“Less demand equates to a fall in value and, therefore, the price of all other things, including Bitcoin, would rise in U.S. dollar terms.”
Main drivers of Bitcoin value - usage and central banks
Since June, the price of Bitcoin has hit highs of around $780 per bitcoin with a year-to-date growth of around 56 percent. According to Berwick, the main driver of the value of Bitcoin is usage.
Berwick says:
“The more people who use Bitcoin increases demand for Bitcoin, which increases its price. The second biggest driver of U.S. or other fiat money price in Bitcoin is central bank money printing and confidence in the system.”
Berwick believes that more money will eventually be printed while a continuing decrease in the fiat money system will help to drive the price of Bitcoin higher.
He concludes:
“All other factors, including Brexit and a weakening Chinese economy are secondary. In terms of the Bitcoin halving I remain agnostic on its effect as there isn’t enough historical evidence to make a prediction on what effect it may or may not have.”