VOA慢速英语--一些投资者预测比特币一年内将涨到10万美元

Some bitcoin investors¹ predict the virtual currency could rise to as high as $100,000 in a year. That is around five times its current value.

The predictions have drawn² criticism from those who believe bitcoin is a speculative³ asset – something a person or company owns that involves too much financial risk.

Predictions and popularity

Since January, bitcoin has increased by 160 percent. It is getting close to its all-time height of just under $20,000 in December 2017. It was last trading at $18,415.

Brian Estes is chief investment officer at Off the Chain Capital. It is a hedge fund - a group of investors who take financial risks together in order to try to earn a lot of money.

Going from $18,000 to $100,000 in one year is not impossible, Estes noted⁴. "I have seen bitcoin go up 10X, 20X, 30X in a year. So going up 5X is not a big deal."

Estes predicts bitcoin could hit between $100,000 and $288,000 by the end of 2021.

Tom Fitzpatrick, an expert at international banking⁵ group Citi, said in a note last week that bitcoin could climb as high as $318,000 by the end of next year. Fitzpatrick said the rise could come because of the currency's limited supply, ease of movement across borders, and unclear ownership.

However, those numbers do not make sense to Toronto-based Kevin Muir, an independent trader. He says he does not expect such huge gains for bitcoin.

"Is it plausible⁶?" Muir said. "For sure. It's a mania⁷." Mania is an extreme excitement or desire for something that is usually shared by many people.

But Muir added that no one really has a clear idea about how high bitcoin will go.

Shortage

Bitcoin relies on so-called "mining" computers that approve or confirm groups of transactions. The computers compete to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. The first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded new bitcoins.

Bitcoin's technology was designed to cut the reward for miners in half every four years. The idea behind the move was to reduce inflation. In May, bitcoin went through a third "halving⁸," which reduced the rate at which new coins are created. This, in turn, reduced supply. That halving started bitcoin's renewed growth.

In a recent letter to investors, hedge fund Pantera Capital said Square's Cash App and PayPal have been buying all new bitcoins. Those buys have caused a bitcoin shortage.

Cash App and Paypal recently launched a cryptocurrency service to its more than 300 million users.

Big predictions

The so-called whale index measures accounts holding at least 1,000 bitcoins. This index is at an all-time high, said Phil Bonello, research director at digital asset manager Grayscale.

Lennard Neo is head of research at Stack Funds. He says with the entry of Square and PayPal, he expects a stronger increase in demand than in 2017. Neo predicts bitcoin will reach $60,000 to $80,000 by the end of 2021.

Tempus Inc currency trader Juan Perez does not understand, and is even shocked, by all the big predictions. Perez said an estimate that bitcoin will reach $100,000 next year would be a prediction about the collapse⁹ of the worldwide financial system.

"Governments around the world won't let that happen," he said.

Words in This Story

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

plausible – adj. possibly true : believable or realistic

transaction – n. a business deal : an occurrence in which goods, services, or money are passed from one person, account, etc., to another

puzzle – n. a question or problem that requires thought, skill, or cleverness to be answered or solved

reward – n. money or another kind of payment that is given or received for something that has been done or that is offered for something that might be done

cryptocurrency – n. a kind of virtual currency or money

digital – adj. relating to computer technology, especially the internet

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

7 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

8 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。