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Billionaire investor Tim Draper says he still expects Bitcoin (BTC) to reach $250,000 within 18 months despite past prediction misses. The longtime Bitcoin bull shared his early experiences with mining, exchange losses, and government auctions that shaped his conviction. His latest comments reinforce a familiar thesis that Bitcoin’s upside is tied to long-term adoption and dollar weakness.

Early bets, losses, and conviction

According to his X post on April 14, Draper’s Bitcoin journey started early, with an attempted mining operation that didn’t go as planned.

He said a partner purchased mining chips from Butterfly Labs, but delays meant the hardware arrived late, after Bitcoin had already surged above $30. Even worse, the Bitcoin they accumulated was later lost in the collapse of Mt. Gox, one of the largest exchange failures in crypto history.

“Peter Viscenne had offered to mine it for me. He bought some fast mining chips from Butterfly Labs, but rather than delivering them to him, they used them to mine their own bitcoin. Then when Peter finally got the chips, Bitcoin was over $30. So he mined what he could. Then we lost all our Bitcoin to Mt. Gox when they “lost” the money.”

Despite that setback, Draper said he began researching Bitcoin’s real-world usage. He found it was already in use for remittances, paying workers without bank access, and enabling new economic systems outside traditional finance. That utility convinced him to continue buying.

His most notable move came in 2014, when he acquired Bitcoin through a U.S. Marshals auction, purchasing seized coins at around $632 each, above the market price at the time.

“Since Bitcoin didn’t drop much on the Mt.Gox news, I did some research. It turned out that Bitcoin was being used for remitting money, paying unbanked employees, and creating economies where there weren’t any. So when I heard about the US Marshall’s auction, I bid over market at $632 and bought all nine lots offered.”

Why Draper still sees $250K Bitcoin

Draper pointed to his early prediction that Bitcoin would reach $10,000, which eventually played out within his timeline.

“Got on Fox Business in 2014 and said Bitcoin would hit $10,000 in three years. The host looked at me like ‘Why did we have this guy on the show?’ Three years to the day, Bitcoin hit $10,000.”

He admits later forecasts have been less accurate, but maintains that the broader trajectory remains intact. His current thesis centers on two factors: continued Bitcoin adoption and the declining purchasing power of fiat currencies.

As more people and businesses use Bitcoin for transactions and savings, and as inflation pressures weigh on the dollar, Draper believes Bitcoin’s price will continue to rise in relative terms.

That leads to his latest call of $250,000 within 18 months, with the expectation that long-term valuations could go even higher if the trend continues.

“After that, my predictions have not been so prescient, but I have reason to believe that Bitcoin will reach $250k in 18 months… and eventually I expect the number to be higher as Bitcoin rises and the dollar falls to inflationary pressures.”

Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin at press time on April 17 stood at $76,531.05, up 2.6% on the day, growing 6.1% across the past week, and accumulating an increase of 4.9% over the month, per the most recent chart information.

Draper’s latest call shows that, despite early setbacks and missed timelines, his core thesis hasn’t changed: Bitcoin’s value depends more by steady adoption and fiat currency pressure than it does on short-term price action. Whether $250,000 arrives within his 18-month window or not, his outlook reflects a broader market belief that Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory still points higher.