The likelihood of bitcoin reaching $100,000 in value this year has fallen to 36% following a difficult week for the cryptocurrency, according to bookmakers.
Betting odds from e-sports statistics site Unikrn put the chance of bitcoin reaching the milestone in 2021 at just over a third on 5 March, down from 45% at the start of the week.
It comes as the cryptocurrency experienced a rocky start to March, having dropped to around $43,000 a day earlier on 28 February. The digital asset hit a high of $52,570 on 3 March, before trading at around $47,000 on 5 March, according to data from crypto exchange Bitstamp.
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Separately, a ranking of odds on which major public figure is most likely to buy at least $100m worth of bitcoin this year was topped by US rapper and designer Kanye West, at a 33.3% chance.
He was followed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at 28.6% and Microsoft boss Bill Gates at 25%, despite the latter’s recent bearish comments on the cryptocurrency.
The digital asset has divided the world’s tech billionaires, with Tesla chief Elon Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey supporting the coin’s rise.
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“Elon has tons of money and he’s very sophisticated, so you know, I don’t worry that his bitcoin will sort of randomly go up or down,” said Gates, speaking to Bloomberg last month. “I do think people get bought into these manias who may not have as much money to spare.”
“So I’m not bullish on bitcoin,” he added, “and my general thought would be that if you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out.”
These are the most likely figures to invest at least $100m in bitcoin this year, according to bettors:
Kanye West — 33.3% chance
Jeff Bezos — 28.6% chance
Bill Gates — 25% chance
Lebron James — 14.3% chance
Donald Trump — 2% chance
George Lucas — 1% chance
Steven Spielberg — 1% chance
Kylie Jenner — 0.5% chance
Kim Kardashian — 0.5% chance
To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Emily Nicolle
