You won't find anyone more bullish on Bitcoin (BTC -0.99%) than Michael Saylor. As the executive chairman of the Bitcoin treasury company MicroStrategy, which now goes by the name Strategy, Saylor more or less pioneered the idea of taking a struggling company and using its available funds to buy hoards of the world's largest cryptocurrency.

Strategy began buying Bitcoin in 2020 and hasn't stopped. It has paid off, and its stock has absolutely soared. The company has also been able to tap the capital markets to raise debt that it can then use to buy Bitcoin. Late last year, Saylor predicted that the price of the token could soar 15,072% over time, and he still seems as bullish as ever. Let's take a look.

$13 million by 2045?

Last November, Saylor went on CNBC and reiterated that he thinks Bitcoin has the potential to hit $13 million per token by the year 2045. He believes the cryptocurrency can deliver a 29% annualized rate of return (ARR) between now and 2045, which he says wouldn't be that outlandish considering it has generated annualized ARRs of 60% historically.

He expects its ARR to decline as it becomes less volatile. "Ultimately, I think the right way to think of it is, it's always going to be the stronger capital asset versus a conventional S&P index," Saylor told CNBC at the time.

Bitcoin has motored higher since his prediction, with the token briefly topping $109,000 in January. The major catalyst was Donald Trump's presidential election victory in November and the Republican sweep of Congress.

Trump has positioned the party as a proponent of crypto and has significantly reversed course from the more cautious regulatory approach taken by President Joe Biden's administration.

Image source: Getty Images.

Trump has put pro-crypto officials in his cabinet and has several pro-crypto advisors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped several high-profile cases against major crypto companies. Trump has also issued an executive order directing the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile.

Since late February, the market has sold off intensely, and cryptocurrencies have faltered as well, with Bitcoin trading at about $85,000 (as of April 2). From this level, a $13 million future price target represents more than 15,000% upside. Despite the sell-off, there is no indication that Saylor does not still believe in his price prediction from last year.

Strategy has continued to pour money into Bitcoin, regardless of price. Recently, the company purchased $1.9 billion worth at an average price of just under $87,000 per token. It now owns more than 2% of the supply outstanding -- or 528,185 bitcoins collectively valued at roughly $35.63 billion, with an average cost of $67,458 each. Saylor hasn't been quiet, either. He recently posted on X: "Don't be a fool. Buy Bitcoin."

Could Bitcoin really surge that high?

When it comes to crypto, never say never. I think if you had asked someone a decade ago if $100,000 per Bitcoin was possible, they might have laughed you out of the room, yet here we are.

That said, I wouldn't read too much into price targets when thinking about a volatile asset like Bitcoin. Saylor seems like he is just doing some basic math and placing some major assumptions behind his estimates.

That said, I am bullish on the crypto over the long term. I think its finite supply of 21 million tokens makes a compelling case that it can one day be viewed as a more common hedge against inflation.

It's also not a bad idea to purchase some alternative assets for your portfolio, like Bitcoin, considering how volatile the market has been during the past five years. So, yes, I do expect the crypto to keep moving higher. However, the path will likely not be linear, and as for a specific price target, your guess is as good as mine.