Bitcoin Could Hit $50,000 in March Spurred by Ukraine Crisis, Says deVere Group CEO

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of global financial advisory deVere Group, has predicted that the price of bitcoin (BTC) will hit $50,000 by end of this month driven by the war in Ukraine and rising institutional investment.

“Developments in recent days [Russia-Ukraine crisis] have put a spotlight on bitcoin’s key traits, which include being borderless, permissionless, censorship-resistant and unconfiscatable,” said Green, in a statement on March 1.

“These inherent characteristics have enormous — and growing — value. This is why bitcoin is now the 14th most valuable currency in the world. I expect it to jump further still up the rankings in coming months.”

Devere Group is an independent financial advisory firm with offices throughout the world. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the company has over $10 billion assets under management.

Green spoke as the BTC price soared 16%, or $6,000, to more than $44,000 on March 1, its biggest daily increase since February 2021. Bitcoin slumped 9% to $34,700 in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24.

BTC has seen wild swings since hitting an all-time high of $69,000 on Nov 10, as panicky investors exited the market due to uncertainty over cryptocurrency regulation as well as the global economic outlook.

At the time of press, the top crypto asset has dropped back slightly to $43,450, down 1% on the day.

Crisis in Europe, institutional adoption to drive growth

According to Nigel Green, there is “no reason why this price momentum should falter.” In that sense, he expects to see “bitcoin hit $50,000 by the end of this month.”

The deVere CEO and founder believes that geopolitical tensions and institutional investment will be major drivers for sustaining the price push.

“The Ukraine-Russia situation has caused significant financial upheaval and individuals, businesses and indeed government agencies – not just in the region but globally – are looking for alternatives to traditional systems,” Green explained, adding that:

“As banks close, ATMs run out of money, threats of personal savings being taken to pay for war, and the major international payments system SWIFT is weaponised, amongst other factors, the case for a viable, decentralized, borderless, tamper-proof, unconfiscatable monetary system has been laid bare.”

Warning that the U.S. dollar’s status as a global reserve currency was in “jeopardy,” Green forecast a situation where all of these factors combine to drive investors toward increased exposure in digital assets, bitcoin specifically.

Institutional investors are primed to lead this change over, he says.

“The appeal of global, digital currencies in our increasingly tech-driven world is, of course, not going unnoticed by institutional investors who include credit unions, banks, large funds such as a mutual or hedge fund, venture capital funds, insurance companies, and pension funds,” said Green.

“As more and more institutional investors take control of the sector, credibility increases, trading volumes go up and volatility goes down – this is all good news for everyday investors,” he added.

‘War is good for bitcoin’

Green may not be the only one who thinks war could be good for bitcoin. Crypto analyst Jack Niewold on Feb. 25 touted Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a buying opportunity for long-term crypto investors.

“Shots fired have historically signaled a market bottom,” he argued. Niewold said the war may lead to central banks printing more money, with economic sanctions prompting nation-states to adopt BTC.