Speaking at Virtual Blockchain Week, famed venture capitalist Tim Draper confirmed that he is sticking to his six-figure Bitcoin (BTC) price prediction.

Back in 2018, Tim Draper made a bold public call that the price of Bitcoin would reach $250,000 by the end of 2022 or early 2023. As of today, he’s sticking to it:

“That's my prediction. Sticking with it. I'm very confident that that is going to happen. That’s happening. It's kind of funny.”

He cites a couple major reasons that might drive that kind of price action. Draper believes that the US government’s massive stimulus package will debase the value of the dollar and “send people to crypto.” He also expects that Bitcoin will see massive commercial adoption around the world within this timeframe.

“All of the sudden, the retailers say, “Oh, you mean I don't have to pay 2.5-4 percent to the banks every time somebody swipes a credit card?”

Draper says a company called OpenNode (in which he invested $1.25 million) can help make it happen. OpenNode is building a Bitcoin payment gateway on the Lightning Network, known for extremely fast BTC transaction settlements.

In time, Draper believes such services will prove their competitive advantage over the the conventional players — credit cards — and will steal market share from them the same way as MasterCard and Visa took market share away from then-dominant American Express. 

Draper also jokingly promised to eat a “raw egg” if his prediction falls short — an allusion to a more savage promise made by John McAfee

With the halving countdown looming, there’s rising mainstream attention on Bitcoin’s price movements.