The maximum possible value of Bitcoins compared to fiat

[Wilhelm]

Total world money supply is ~70 Trillion 2013 USD.   21 million BTC.

70,000,000,000,000  divided by 21,000,000  = 3.33 Million USD per coin.

Max value of BTC is 3.3 million USD each.  If it were to entirely replace all fiat on the planet..

+1 wanted to make this calculation. GDP was slightly higher according to wikipedia.

[ElectricMucus]

That's the point everybody has to cash out at some point.

No, everybody doesn't. My bitcoin wallet will never go to 0.

I don't understand many posters' (like EM) fixation on selling all of their bitcoins.  Just like you don't have to invest $100,000 (you can start with 50 bucks!), you don't have to sell out all your bitcoins in order to benefit. 

Yes, this all-or-nothing attitude leads to "nothing" in almost all cases. I prefer to keep a healthy balance at all times, and anybody who witnessed at least once how rapidly bitcoin grows, and who can also add 2 and 2, would do the same.

I never said you must sell all of them.

[Peter R]

I never said you must sell all of them.

Then even if one didn't learn about bitcoin till this summer, one should have recouped more than his initial cash investment by now and still have plenty of bitcoins left (using the SSS plan I referenced earlier in this thread).  

I noticed you've had your forum account since August 14, 2011, EM.  What divestment strategy did you follow?  Would you recommend it for new users?

[Odalv]

I never said you must sell all of them.

Then even if one didn't learn about bitcoin till this summer, one should have recouped more than his initial cash investment by now and still have plenty of bitcoins left (using the SSS plan I referenced earlier in this thread).  

I noticed you've had your forum account since August 14, 2011, EM.  What divestment strategy did you follow?  Would you recommend it for new users?

Looks like he is trying to destroy bitcoin. :-)

[ElectricMucus]

The best strategy is to forget some on an old laptop and discover them before you throw it away.

[MAbtc]

The best strategy is to forget some on an old laptop and discover them before you throw it away.

Almost worked for me. I had some coins in 2010 long before I took BTC seriously. I stopped caring, forgot about BTC, and later sold the laptop on Craigslist. I wonder if that guy ever got the coins. Unencrypted wallet, too.

[Peter R]

The best strategy is to forget some on an old laptop and discover them before you throw it away.

There is truth in that.  If you are always watching the fiat value of your bitcoins, you could be tempted into selling too many too early.  

If you don't think you have the self-control to stick to the SSS plan, then a more secure variation on EM's suggestion would be to store some bitcoins on a laminated paper wallet (with a TrueCrypt back-up!) and just forget about it for a few years.  

[BittBurger]

Total world money supply is ~70 Trillion 2013 USD.   21 million BTC.

70,000,000,000,000  divided by 21,000,000  = 3.33 Million USD per coin.

Max value of BTC is 3.3 million USD each.  If it were to entirely replace all fiat on the planet..

What if Bitcoin became the "world economy" but in the sense that you could use it in every country in the world, side by side with that given country's fiat?

You travel to singapore, you can convert to Singapore money or you can use bitcoin.

London?  Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin is used by everyone, everywhere as the "alternative" currency that is now global.

Would it really need to *replace* fiat to attain that market cap and per-coin value? 

If it were to become *the* world currency, even if fiat currencies remained ... could it match the market cap while remaining side-by-side with fiat?

-Burger-

[kwoody]

If you convert all fiat paper wealth as of this moment into USD, divide the entire world's fiat paper wealth by 21 Million(Bitcoins), then each Bitcoin becomes worth about $22million USD.

[notme]

If you convert all fiat paper wealth as of this moment into USD, divide the entire world's fiat paper wealth by 21 Million(Bitcoins), then each Bitcoin becomes worth about $22million USD.

The total amount of fiat varies greatly depending on who you ask.  Calculations performed with crap inputs yield crap outputs.

[4mherewego]

Maybe the world economy today supports a value of $3.33M/BTC, but the world economy where bitcoin is used might support a higher number like $4M, thus my nickname.

[TERA]

The real potential of bitcoin comes when we expand into space, cultivate alien planets, and implement bitcoin on their networks. If we estimate the GDP of the entire galaxy in USD as 8.2 * 10^20 USD, then the value of each bitcoin would be $39,047,619,047,619.04

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Total world money supply is ~70 Trillion 2013 USD.   21 million BTC.

70,000,000,000,000  divided by 21,000,000  = 3.33 Million USD per coin.

Max value of BTC is 3.3 million USD each.  If it were to entirely replace all fiat on the planet..

You forgot to add what the Fed adds daily in your equation. In fact, I believe a majority of countries also inflate their currency, ergo Bitcoin will forever be chasing an ever expanding bubble (not sure if no pun intended).

[silverbox]

Total world money supply is ~70 Trillion 2013 USD.   21 million BTC.

70,000,000,000,000  divided by 21,000,000  = 3.33 Million USD per coin.

Max value of BTC is 3.3 million USD each.  If it were to entirely replace all fiat on the planet..

You forgot to add what the Fed adds daily in your equation. In fact, I believe a majority of countries also inflate their currency, ergo Bitcoin will forever be chasing an ever expanding bubble (not sure if no pun intended).

Nope didn't forget, see the 2013, that means 2013 USD equivalent.  Not some future USD value, that value of USD in 2013.

[undeadbitcoiner]

We Can't actually Predict possiblity of maximum because its Infinite
but recently what we can predict is In 2014 Minimum MarkerCap of Bitcoin will be 26 Billion +
Lets dont go more far then that Bitcoin Maximum Value could be in Trillions of Dollars or it could cover alll the GDP of whole world then just think.

[Mikcik]

there's not much more room for bitcoin to go.  Next level is regulation and mainstream (which defeats the purpose of its existence anyway), which is a huge step forward.  40% of americans already know what it is.  Ask someone on the street if they think bitcoin is a big deal.  Answer is NO.

So the dilemna with bitcoin is that for its price to skyrocket it has to abandon its roots.  Basically, bitcoin is kind of like a joke right now.

Less than 150,000 Americans own more than one Bitcoin. Not much more room for growth... 

wow is that true? Thats only about 0,05% of USA population (if population is 300 mil (im not from usa))

[theta]

The real potential of bitcoin comes when we expand into space, cultivate alien planets, and implement bitcoin on their networks. If we estimate the GDP of the entire galaxy in USD as 8.2 * 10^20 USD, then the value of each bitcoin would be $39,047,619,047,619.04

Even more than that, because some bitcoins are lost, so you should divide by 20m, not 21m.

I totally agree with you, all this is very silly. It has the causality reversed. Governments decide the currency, not the other way around. There is no reason whatsoever for total bitcoin supply value to match total global money supply/assets/GDP/whatever.

It can still go to 7 digits though.