Bitcoin Total Value to Hit $1.2T in '18: Fundstrat

Bitcoin's massive sell-off this week hasn't stopped one of its most well-known bulls from reiterating his extremely upbeat take on the future of the digital currency. Thomas J. Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, was one of the first from the traditional financial world to go bullish on the cryptocurrency, while others expressed skepticism on its extreme volatility. Now the analyst expects bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, to approximately double its total value to over $1.2 trillion by the end of 2018.

On Wednesday, bitcoin plunged below $10,000 just after the digital currency surged near all-time highs of nearly $20,000 in mid-December, sending investors on a selling frenzy. While many on the Street have advised clients to stay far away from bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum, ripple and litecoin, others suggest staying put as long-time crypto-investors are accustomed to wild price fluctuations. 

What's Next in Cryptocurrency 

As bitcoin recovers slightly from the crypto cash crash at $11,771 on Thursday evening, Fundstrat's Lee has upped his five-year price forecasts for bitcoin. In October, the analyst pegged the price of bitcoin in 2022 at $25,000. He's now increasing his expectation by 400% to $125,000. He sees $9,000 as the floor for bitcoin, projecting the digital currency to rise to $20,000 by midyear and $25,000 by year-end. 

Lee recommended that investors buy additional digital coins, foreseeing large-cap coins gaining in 2018. He expects blockchain-enabled currency ethereum to rise to $1,900 from $1,036 by the end of 2018, and ethereum classic, which he describes as a hybrid of bitcoin and ethereum, to jump to $60 from $29.84 over the same period. The Fundstrat analyst also recommended buying Neo, which hee sees jumping from $141 to $225 this year. (See also: Bitcoin Is the New Gold: Goldman Sachs.)

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