Harvard Economist Who Predicted That Bitcoin Was More Likely to Hit $100 Than $100K Finally Speaks Out

Kenneth Rogoff, professor of economics at Harvard University, has taken to the X social media network to address his awful Bitcoin call, which recently went viral on social media.

He has outlined the main reasons why his prediction went so terribly wrong, with the lack of “sensible” regulation being one of them.

$100,000 instead of $100

In March 2018, Rogoff told CNBC that Bitcoin was “a lot more likely” to plunge to $100 than surge to $10,000 a decade from then.

The economist insisted that the cryptocurrency was being primarily used for laundering money and evading taxes, arguing that it failed to gain significant traction as a transaction vehicle.

Back then, the esteemed Harvard professor, who has published several influential papers, argued that a global regulatory crackdown would make the price of the cryptocurrency plunge lower.

Back then, the cryptocurrency was coming off a massive bull run that propelled its price to nearly $20,000. In May 2018, however, the cryptocurrency was trading at just roughly $11,000 after a substantial correction. It went on to plunge to $3,112 in December 2018 following a truly brutal bear market.

Fast-forward to 2025, however, Bitcoin is now trading at $113,260 after recently reaching a new record high of $124,128.

Key reasons behind this terrible call

While addressing his horrible Bitcoin price prediction, Rogoff admitted that he was “far too optimistic” about the US “coming to its senses” about the necessity to rein in crypto with “sensible” regulation.

He also claims that he did not expect Bitcoin to compete with fiat currencies as a transaction medium.

Finally, he never expects regulators to fully embrace crypto while allegedly ignoring conflicts of interest.

So, where is Bitcoin heading next?

As reported by U.Today, commodity trader Peter Brandt previously claimed that there was a 30% chance that Bitcoin had peaked.

However, he now claims that such odds could be higher after Bitcoin recently plunged below $113,000, underperforming in tandem with the Nasdaq index.

Source