Share this article
Balaji Srinivasan Explains $1M Bitcoin Bet Rationale, Says Could Take Longer Than 90 Days
The entrepreneur pointed to the government printing money as the reason for his bullish call.
Updated May 1, 2023, 5:51 p.m. Published Apr 28, 2023, 4:56 p.m.
Entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan explained the rationale for his bet that bitcoin (BTC) could reach $1 million in price by June 17 as he spoke remotely by video link at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2023 conference, which is being held in Austin, Texas.
Srinivasan, a former chief technology officer of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), is credited by many for predicting the effects of COVID-19 earlier than most. In March, he predicted stupendously bullish prospects for bitcoin in response to the devaluing of the U.S. dollar. He said the price could reach $1 million in 90 days after March 17.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
"Could it be that it takes 900 days or even 90 months? It's possible, I don't have a 100% probability on it," Srinivasan said on Friday.
"I may be wrong, but I'm burning a million to tell you they're printing trillions."
He described his prediction as a "symbol" of the "collapse in full faith and credit in the U.S. financial system," because of a proliferation of money printing by the government to prop up a fragile banking system.
Relating the chances of bitcoin reaching $1 million to the probability of some sort of Black Swan event in the U.S. economy, Srinivasan said he thinks there's a 10% chance of a very serious issue in months, a 70% chance of one in years, a 19% chance within decades and a 1% chance it takes a century or more.
"So, I don't think it's 100%, but the specific number I think is high as I see a lot of fragility in the system."
Read More: Balaji Srinivasan’s $1M Bitcoin Bet Could Be Right, but I Hope He’s Wrong
CORRECTION (April 28, 17:30 UTC): Earlier version said Srinivasan said there's a 90% chance of a serious issue within decades. Corrects to 19% and adds the 1% probability that this would take a century.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
