Bitcoin investors received a jolt of optimism on Fox Business’ Mornings With Maria on December 13, 2024, when Digital Chamber founder and CEO Perianne Boring unveiled a staggering price prediction. Speaking with host Maria Bartiromo, Boring suggested that bitcoin could surge to $800,000 in 2025 under economic proposals set forth by President-elect Donald Trump.

Personnel is policy: Perianne Boring pic.twitter.com/52IPUr2owR

— Mornings with Maria (@MorningsMaria) December 13, 2024

Boring’s insights underscore how policy-driven macroeconomic factors could catalyze bitcoin’s ascent to historic highs. With its fixed supply, bitcoin’s unique scarcity positions it to thrive under conditions of increased adoption and favorable policy environments—a scenario Boring believes Trump is poised to create.

Trump’s Bitcoin Vision: A Policy Blueprint for Growth

The conversation with Bartiromo highlighted several proposals that could act as a tailwind for bitcoin’s growth. “What President-elect Donald Trump has proposed, what he’s outlined to our community, would absolutely solidify the United States’ leadership in the digital asset and blockchain technology ecosystem,” Boring stated.

She pointed to Trump’s famous bitcoin speech in Nashville, where he laid out a vision of building a national bitcoin stockpile and leveraging tax policy to attract economic activity into the space. Boring emphasized the importance of addressing regulatory challenges: “He wants to clear up a lot of these regulatory friction points for the industry. The U.S. has driven out activity under the Biden administration. We need leadership at the very, very top to bring these markets back to the United States.“

Regulatory Clarity on the Horizon?

Boring also addressed the ongoing confusion between the SEC and CFTC regarding oversight, which has driven significant innovation out of the U.S. She shared optimism about Trump’s personnel choices, including potential appointments like Paul Atkins for SEC chair and Brian Quintens for CFTC leadership. Both figures, she explained, bring technical and industry expertise needed to restore clarity and confidence to the market.

“Paul Atkins is absolutely committed to bringing that regulatory clarity,” Boring said. She also noted Quintens’ history of advocating for self-regulation in the digital asset market, adding that both leaders could “put us in the right step.”

A Historic Price Catalyst?

When Bartiromo raised the topic of price projections, Boring delivered the show-stopping prediction that captured investors’ imaginations: “The stock-to-flow model says it’s going to be at over $800,000 by the end of next year. If Donald Trump is successful in putting forth a lot of the proposals that he’s proposed to the community, the sky is the limit because bitcoin has a fixed supply.“

This bullish outlook aligns with models that measure bitcoin’s price trajectory relative to its halving cycles and its immutable monetary policy. The fixed supply cap of 21 million bitcoins contrasts sharply with the inflationary tendencies of fiat currencies, positioning bitcoin as a potential store of value in uncertain economic times.

Market Insights for Bitcoin Investors

While ambitious, the $800,000 price target reflects a growing belief among market analysts that supportive policies, reduced regulatory friction, and a resurgence of U.S.-led innovation could create the perfect storm for bitcoin adoption. Investors should watch closely as Trump’s administration shapes the landscape.

The alignment of fiscal policy, regulatory reform, and institutional confidence could reignite bitcoin’s trajectory. For those holding or considering allocations, the evolving policy backdrop could represent a pivotal moment in bitcoin’s maturation.

Adding to the bullish sentiment, Eric Trump, a prominent American businessman, Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization, and son of President-elect Donald Trump, made headlines at the Bitcoin MENA event in Abu Dhabi on December 10. Speaking to a captivated audience, he confidently predicted that Bitcoin would someday reach $1 million per BTC. This bold forecast aligns with the Trump family’s increasing advocacy for Bitcoin and its transformative potential in global finance. Eric Trump’s statement not only underscores the administration’s pro-Bitcoin stance but also reinforces the positive feedback loop of institutional and policy support driving long-term price appreciation. 

With potential catalysts on the horizon, one thing is certain: 2025 could be a defining year for bitcoin’s role in the global financial system.

​ In a bold prediction on Fox Business, Perianne Boring, CEO of the Digital Chamber, asserted that President-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies could position the U.S. as a global leader in bitcoin adoption, potentially driving the asset’s price to an unprecedented $800,000 by 2025. 

Before I even arrived at this year’s Africa Bitcoin Conference, I saw attendees posting about Tando, a new Kenya-based payments app that allows users to spend their sats with merchants who don’t accept bitcoin.

Just arrived in Nairobi 🇰🇪🛬 & the 1st thing I see as I exit is the @tando_me sign

LET’S GO @AfroBitcoinOrg 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/zhPSP2dTH8

— OKIN | Nikolai Tjongarero (@OKIN_17) December 8, 2024

“How is this possible?”, you might ask. Well, let me explain.

To use Tando, you simply download the app and prepare to pay any merchant who accepts payments via M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile money service. (Notice I didn’t say you had to go through a set up or KYC process, as neither are necessary — Tando doesn’t collect any identifying information from its users.)

When the merchant presents you with your bill, you simply click on the “Send Money” square on the app’s home screen. From there, you enter the mobile number tied to the M-PESA account to which you’re sending money and then input the amount of Kenyan shillings you want to send.

The app automatically calculates the amount of sats it will take to cover the shilling amount you’ve input. You then click on the green “Create Invoice” button to obtain a Lightning invoice. After that, you copy the invoice and pay it via your preferred Lightning wallet. Tando receives the sats and then settles the bill in shillings with the merchant within seconds.

I can barely count how many times I’ve watched Bitcoiners use Tando to pay restaurant bills or taxi fares since I’ve been here. (I’ve been to a lot of restaurants and have ridden in a lot of taxis since I’ve arrived.)

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Tando interfaces with a fiat payment system, which means it should be excommunicated from the Church of Bitcoin.

But before you allow yourself to entertain that kind of thinking, please consider the following notions:

1. You’re a loser.
2. Here in Kenya, much like in other parts of Africa, people actually use bitcoin for payments.
3. When you show someone how to use Tando, it provides you with an opportunity to show the merchant what Bitcoin is as you show them how the app works. (I watched Gorilla Sats’ Brindon Mwiine masterfully do this for a waitress at a conference after party.)
4. M-PESA requires that its users KYC and some Kenyan citizens don’t have the proper documentation to do so, which means they’re excluded from the system. Using Tando, they can be included in Kenya’s broader monetary system.

The excitement around Tando at the conference was part of the broader enthusiasm around apps that make bitcoin easier to use across the African continent — apps like Bitsacco, Machankura, Fedi and Bitnob.

Massive shout out to the devs making #Bitcoin wallets easier to use.@bitsacco @Machankura8333 @fedibtc @tando_me @Loicbtc pic.twitter.com/UhVw5bnBxO

— Frank Corva (@frankcorva) December 11, 2024

African Bitcoiners are far ahead of their counterparts in the United States when it comes to using bitcoin as it is intended to be used — as peer-to-peer electronic cash.

And while many Africans are working tirelessly to onboard as many merchants as they can to Bitcoin, Tando is an excellent intermediary step that allows Bitcoiners to spend their sats even if the merchants with whom they’re spending don’t yet accept bitcoin payments.

​ The app lets users pay any merchant in Kenya that accepts digital payments via M-PESA with bitcoin over Lightning. 

An Austin, Texas man, Frank Richard Ahlgren III, has been sentenced to two years in prison for filing false tax returns that underreported the capital gains from selling $3.7 million worth of bitcoin, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today.

According to the DOJ, Ahlgren was an early Bitcoin investor who began purchasing bitcoin in 2011. In 2015, he acquired 1,366 bitcoins through his Coinbase account, a year in which the price of bitcoin peaked at approximately $495 per coin. By October 2017, Bitcoin’s value had surged, and Ahlgren sold 640 bitcoins for $5,807 each, totaling a gain of $3.7 million. He then used the proceeds to purchase a home in Park City, Utah.

However, when filing his 2017 tax return, Ahlgren misrepresented the gains by inflating the cost basis of his bitcoin purchases, claiming he had acquired the coins at prices higher than market rates. This misreporting significantly reduced the reported capital gains.

Between 2018 and 2019, Ahlgren sold additional bitcoins worth over $650,000 but failed to report these transactions on his tax returns entirely. In an attempt to conceal his gains, he transferred funds through multiple wallets, exchanged bitcoin for cash in person, and using mixers to anonymize his bitcoin transactions.

In total, the DOJ stated that Ahlgren’s actions resulted in a tax loss exceeding $1 million.

“Frank Ahlgren III earned millions buying and selling bitcoins,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division “But instead of paying the taxes he knew were due, he lied to his accountant about the extent of a large portion of his gains, and sought to conceal another chunk of his profits through sophisticated techniques designed to obscure his transactions on the bitcoin blockchain. That conduct today earned him a two-year sentence.”

The U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman sentenced Ahlgren to two years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Additionally, Ahlgren was ordered to pay $1,095,031 in restitution to the U.S. government.

“Ahlgren will serve time because he believed his cryptocurrency transactions were untraceable. This case demonstrates that no one is above the law. My team at IRS Criminal Investigation has the expertise and tools to track financial activity, whether it involves dollars, pesos, or cryptocurrency,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Houston Field Office. “This case marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution centered solely on cryptocurrency. As the prices for cryptocurrency are high, so is the temptation to not pay taxes on its sale. Avoid the temptation and avoid federal prison.”

​ This marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution centered solely on bitcoin.