Venture capitalist investor Tim Draper has again claimed bitcoin (BTC) could reach $250,000 within 18 months, drawing attention.

On April 14, blockchain media outlet BeInCrypto reported that Draper made the forecast in a social media post, citing inflation pressure and a weaker dollar.

Draper cited shifts in the macro environment as the reason he expects bitcoin to reach $250,000. "There is reason to believe bitcoin will reach $250,000 within 18 months," he said. "I think even higher numbers are possible, as bitcoin rises and the dollar falls under inflation pressure," he added.

The remarks came as Draper revisited his history of investing in bitcoin. He said he initially tried to buy bitcoin at around $4 per coin but his plan fell through. He said he had prepared for Peter Vessenes to mine bitcoin using Butterfly Labs chips, but the manufacturer shipped the chips only after using them for its own mining first.

By the time he actually received the equipment, bitcoin was already trading above $30. The mined coins were then kept at Mt. Gox, which was the biggest exchange at the time, and Draper lost all his holdings when Mt. Gox collapsed in 2014.

Draper said he studied bitcoin more closely after the loss. He said he became more convinced after confirming that bitcoin was used for remittances and for paying wages to workers with low access to financial services, and he took part in a U.S. Marshals Service auction in July 2014. At the time, he bid $632 per bitcoin and won all nine lots, totaling about 29,656 bitcoins.

Draper later appeared on Fox Business and predicted bitcoin would reach $10,000 within three years. That forecast became reality in November 2017, almost on schedule.

His $250,000 forecast is not new. Draper has previously set the same price target, but bitcoin has not come close to that level over the past six years. The market is also paying attention to the fact that his optimism is being repeated.

As a result, market focus is shifting from Draper’s forecast itself to whether macro variables such as inflation and a weaker dollar will actually be linked to broader bitcoin demand. While he has a track record of accurate calls, there is also a precedent for the same target failing to materialise for a long time, and attention is on whether this forecast will translate into actual price moves.