Why a Citibank analyst is calling a $318k target for Bitcoin

Following the playbook created by Bitcoin and cryptocurrency believers in the past few years: Deny all ties to the asset class at first, try to disallow clients from banking crypto profits to their accounts then, and wholeheartedly embracing the sector later.

Tom Fitzpatrick, a veteran fund manager and executive at the US bank, published a client note last week that compared Bitcoin's rise to the one seen in the gold market back in the 1970s.

He even predicted a price that would incite stock-to-flow model believers: That of Bitcoin reaching a six-figure price as early as next year.

"Bitcoin move happened in the aftermath of the Great Financial crisis which saw a new change in the monetary regime as we went to ZERO percent interest rates," wrote Fitzpatrick in the note.

The analyst had a positive take on Bitcoin's infamous price corrections, which have seen the pioneer cryptocurrency drop by as much as 40% in a single day.

"While Bitcoin may be subject to more regulatory constraints going forward it is a natural store of"money" to avoid this.

The bank analyst's $318,000 price target for Bitcoin was met by both accolades and skepticism among crypto circles on Twitter.

In May 2016 I met Citibank chief economist Willem Buiter at a conference in Oxford & explained bitcoin to him as he shouted nocoinerisms.

I offered to bet him bitcoin will outperform citi over 5 years.

This is the same bank that urged people to sell Bitcoin when it was trading under $400 in 2013.