On July 3, 2017, Standpoint Research founder Ronnie Moas initiated coverage on bitcoin. He recommended investors purchase it at $2,570. By Nov.17, the price neared $8,000.

Also, bitcoin has experienced two forks since Aug. 1, so when you include both bitcoin cash and bitcoin gold in the value, it is considerably higher on a split-adjusted basis.

This 200% return is MODERN TRADER’s top call of the year.

While there had been a wealth of projections from bitcoin fanatics and exchange operators, Moas’ recommendation stood out and became a catalyst for broader coverage in the market. We have profiled Moas in the past (see “The Cult of Tesla,” MT September 2016). He has been the top-ranked analyst according to TipRanks over the last decade compared to more than 4,000 analysts.

Moas’ forecast centers on the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies as an alternative asset. He notes in his recent report that there are $200 trillion in assets around the globe in cash, bonds, stocks and gold. Moas has a bearish argument against all four. The U.S. dollar has lost 50% of its value since he was in high school 33 years ago. Gold hasn’t moved much despite jewelry demand and inflation. Stocks remain at their highest P/E valuation since 2000, and you’re probably going to have to get lucky to get a good return on junk bonds.

In the search for alpha, Moas projects that more and more of these assets will migrate to cryptocurrencies.

“If 1% of that $200 trillion ends up in crypto over the next 10 years, you’re looking at a $2 trillion valuation,” he says. “That would be 10 times what space is valued at today. The cryptocurrency total market cap is $200 billion right now. If you go to $2 trillion,  that’s a 900% return - 10x return on your money.” Should bitcoin maintain its 50% dominance in the market, bitcoin could obtain a $1 trillion valuation.

Moas has set two forecasts for bitcoin in the years ahead. His conservative forecast calls for $50,000 by 2027. The aggressive forecast calls for the price to hit $100,000 by 2022.

Moas’ call had generated headlines around the globe. Shortly after his recommendation went viral in July, more than 12,000 people visited his site from 140 countries. Naturally, his business changed, and he became one of the most sought-after analysts in the cryptocurrency space.

“I’ve been interviewed by everyone from CNBC and Bloomberg, to Barron’s and Forbes, and many large publications outside the United States contacted me as well,” he says. More than 100,000 recently viewed an interview with Moas at Coin Telegraph in early November.

“Crypto was zero percent of my business four months ago,” he says. “Now it is more than half of my business.”

In the future, Moas anticipates that other Wall Street banks will initiate coverage. “This is the direction that the world is going right now, and nobody wanted to be the first one in,” he says. “But once one person jumps in, it’s going to be like a bunch of sheep following a shepherd. You’re going to see other firms jumping on this and wanting to get a piece of the pie. You know how Wall Street is. They are looking at an industry that is probably going to have a $2 trillion valuation a few years from now. That would be 15% of the value of the stock market, it’s significant.”

Moas has also generated headlines after initiating a sell/short rating on Tesla on Oct. 4. At the time, the stock traded at $357. Following his valuation call, shares fell to roughly $303 by Nov.10.