Harvard Economist admits that $ 100 BTC prediction fails, blames regulations and underground economy

Harvard -economist Kenneth Rogoff has admitted that his notorious prediction of 2018, that Bitcoin (BTC) was worth $ 100 rather than $ 100,000 in ten years, was spectacularly wrong.

Writing on X, Rogoff recognized That he underestimates the resilience of the OG -Cryptocurrency, with reference to ‘sensible regulations that never arrive’, keep his role in the global underground economy and people in the authority himself crypto despite conflicts of interest.

From $ 100 call to $ 124k reality

The admission only a few days after Bitcoin set a new high price above $ 124,000 on 14 August, so that the market capitalization of Google was reversed in the process. Rogoff’s Klimdown has once again revealed the debate between critics and supporters about the wave between the academic world and the Real-World process of digital assets.

In January 2018, the former IMF Chief Economist told CNBC’s squawk box:

“I think Bitcoin will be worth a small fraction of what it is now when we will be on our way in 10 years,” said the Harvard professor. “I would see $ 100 as much more likely than $ 100,000 in ten years in ten years.”

He claimed that the ‘actual use of the active as a transaction vehicle’ was negligible outside money laundering and tax evasion. He also stated that the regulations would eventually crush the value of the cryptocurrency. At the time, BTC acted around $ 11,200 and still staggered after dumping the peak of December 2017 near $ 19,000.

Now, in 2025, with Bitcoin far above $ 100,000 Mark Rogoff, it had insisted that it would never be actively achieved, his prediction is ridiculing on social media.

Analyst Bet Paine compared his mistake with a marine biologist who confused a blue whale to weigh 200 pounds. Bitcoin -forecast Robert Breedlove also came in hot, dismiss The professor downright and said that he never cared about his opinion then and still not today.

Others, such as Columbia teacher Omid Malekan, however assertions Rogoff’s misstep was a reflection of the broader “Innovator’s dilemma” in the academic world, where reputation risk, institutional bias and the lack of technical background cannot leave many economists not suitable to understand the importance of Bitcoin.

Austin Campbell, a former JPMorgan director, continued on the same day in a thread, calling Rogoff “The worst -located person in the whole world to understand the value of Bitcoin”, with reference to his privileged access to stable settings and the dollar -based system.

Meanwhile, economist Jan Wüstenfeld marked The profession of that bitcoin does not stem from tax evasion, because Rogoff was insinuated, but of systemic inflation, monetary expansion and rising global guilt taxes.

Market forecasts

The price of Bitcoin has been withdrawn since the all time of last week and has fallen 7.3% in the last seven days to act at $ 112,639 from 20 August.

The deterioration follows on taking a profit after the Recordrun, although it remains active on an annual basis 86%. In the last 24 hours, BTC fell by 2.1% within a range of $ 112,500 to $ 115,000, with short -term weakness that contrasts with its wider Bullish process.