A pioneer of the crypto industry and Blockstream CEO Adam Back placed a million satoshis (0.01 BTC) on Bitcoin reaching $100,000 before the halving.
Back agreed to a bet with a user on the platform X (formerly Twitter) under the handle Vikingo. In the latter’s view, the price of digital gold would reach $100,000 no earlier than 2025. The head of Blockstream is confident it will happen by March 31, 2024.
The next Bitcoin halving is expected about a month after Back’s date. The block reward in the network will drop from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
The former Blockstream chief strategy officer and Jan3 CEO, Samson Mow, also wrote that he expects a new all-time high before the halving, not after.
In March, the former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan bet $1 million that Bitcoin would reach $1 million within 90 days. In May, he prematurely admitted defeat and donated the losing sum.
The bet proposed by Back to his opponent stands at roughly $290 at the time of writing. The amount has elicited a string of snarky comments. Independent developer Udi Wertheimer offered to help finance the bet.
Some users noted that if Back wins, the stake would rise to $1,000. His personal fortune is estimated at $100–300 million.
In 2021 Blockstream raised $210 million in a Series B funding round, valuing the company at $3.2 billion.