Bitcoin to Dethrone the U.S. Dollar Within a Decade, Predicts Billionaire VC Tim Draper

Venture capitalist Tim Draper makes a bold proclamation: Bitcoin will replace the U.S. dollar as the dominant global currency by 2035. The billionaire investor, known for his early bets on Tesla and Skype, doubles down on his crypto conviction despite recent market volatility.

Draper’s argument hinges on Bitcoin’s decentralized nature, fixed supply, and growing adoption—qualities that expose the dollar’s inflationary weaknesses. "Fiat is failing while Bitcoin is evolving," he stated during a recent interview, dismissing concerns about regulatory crackdowns as "short-term noise."

The prediction comes as institutional interest reaches new highs, with BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF seeing record inflows. Critics counter that dollar dominance won’t fade easily—after all, the currency that backs the world’s $24 trillion debt market doesn’t go quietly into the night.

Bitcoin vs. Stablecoins

Draper is a bitcoin maximalist who believes stablecoins are a bridge to bitcoin that will onboard people to utilize digital currencies, but ultimately they are as flawed as the governments that sanction them.

“Stablecoins are subject to inflation. They will inflate if the government prints too much money. They will be worth less and less and less over time, whereas bitcoin is not subject to that,” said Draper.

Even though U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff policies go against Draper’s belief in free trade, they hasten his prediction that the U.S. dollar will weaken. The dollar index has dropped almost 8% year to date to 99.96, its lowest level since April 2022. The TRUMP administration is widely speculated to be analysing ways to devalue the dollar further to make U.S. exports more globally competitive. Nevertheless, Draper is hopeful the U.S. government will negotiate levies down so that trade partners buy more U.S. goods and resume an open market.

Within the U.S., Draper is more confident about domestic tech innovation now that the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal regulators are “more open to creativity” and have stepped away from the practice of regulation by enforcement.

“Let’s start communicating with animals”

Other technologies he is invested in include genetics. His early investment in Colossal Biosciences made headlines when the genetics lab created a new species of dire wolf and gene-edited “woolly mice” into existence using a mix of mutations modelled on woolly mammoths. These efforts to “de-extinct” species aim to restore earth’s biological diversity, but Draper believes they will eventually help humans communicate with animals.

“Dogs can smell 10,000 times as well as we can,” said Draper. “My theory is that it’s usually when they’re really happy and they like you, they sneeze on you. What they’re doing is telling you a story, they sneeze on you and then, ‘[Here] are all the things that I’ve done. These are all the things I’ve smelled.’” Draper believes advances in genetics and artificial intelligence will eventually decode the language of birds that “must have 500 different words for wind” and a better understanding of the weather. Humans could also learn from talking to ants about their population management.

“Let’s start communicating with animals. I think it’ll be great and we are getting there,” said Draper. “It’s slow. That’s 50 years out.”

As for artificial intelligence, the most cynical programmers warn that AI’s will eventually dismiss humans as mere carbon bodies with limited use as energy sources, but Draper remains the perpetual optimist.

“I think that humans are going to adapt,” he said.

When artificial intelligence replaces human labor, Draper trusts people will resiliently find new jobs with their newfound productivity, make greater impact, and “gain in quality of life.” Draper believes humans will eventually merge with AI by programming embryos and linking human brains to wifi and other technologies.

“I think it’s going to be incredibly amazing for somebody today who’s still alive 50 years from now, because they’re gonna look back and say, ‘God, those poor people, they were all stuck on earth, just earth,” said Draper. “They had to actually ask their phone for knowledge instead of having their mind anticipate the need for knowledge.”