Tech billionaire's 13-year-old forecast turns out to be a goldmine
Billionaire investor and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya has always had some of the hottest takes on the crypto markets, and with Bitcoin recently hitting a new all-time high (ATH), one of his predictions from 2013 has come to light.
On July 26, Palihapitiya shared a video from 2013 in which he can be seen hailing Bitcoin's value as a store of value.
The billionaire can be seen calling Bitcoin "gold 2.0" and expecting it to be an "unbelievably better" store of value within the next 3-5 years. In fact, every country experiencing currency pressure, such as Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Argentina, etc., would use Bitcoin, he had remarked, and predicted it would probably become a payment mechanism thereafter.Palihapitiya reminded his X followers that he had also written an op-ed for Bloomberg — around the time the video was recorded — on May 30, 2013, advocating that everyone in the world should put 1% of their net worth into Bitcoin. The 2008 global financial crisis and the loss of trust in traditional institutions such as governments, banks, etc. have led to the rise of Bitcoin, he had argued.
The opportunity here is to think constructively about a world in which money flows are more transparent (Bitcoin), easy (Bitcoin), cheap (Bitcoin) and secure (Bitcoin).
When Palihapitiya's op-ed was published on May 30, 2013, the average Bitcoin price was $128.80.
If you had taken his advice on the day and invested $10,000 in Bitcoin when it was priced at $128.80, your portfolio would now be worth $9.16 million — a staggering return of more than 91,500%.
An early advocate of the leading cryptocurrency, Palihapitiya even slammed Warren Buffett when the veteran investor said Bitcoin is "probably rat poison squared." Though he calls himself Buffett's "disciple," he said Buffett is wrong about Bitcoin.
"Not everybody is right all the time."
Disclaimer: The content above is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as financial advice. Do your own research before investing.
Tech billionaire's 13-year-old forecast turns out to be a goldmine first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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