Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is undoubtedly one of the best financial assets anyone could've owned in the past decade, turning tiny amounts of capital into huge sums of wealth. But there is still huge upside, at least based on the perspective of an expert in the field.

According to billionaire tech executive Michael Saylor, who founded software company MicroStrategy, the world's top cryptocurrency could soar 18,600% from its current price of $69,300 (as of the evening on Oct. 31) to $13 million in 2045. Here's what investors need to know about this prediction.

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Saylor's bullish outlook

Michael Saylor made headlines when he used his company's cash reserves to start accumulating Bitcoin in August 2020. He was surprised by the massive amounts of government stimulus to get the economy past the COVID-19 pandemic, and wanted to move MicroStrategy's assets toward something that had a fixed supply. Naturally, he was drawn to Bitcoin.

Today, MicroStrategy has become a full-fledged Bitcoin-based enterprise. Saylor hasn't shied away from his goal, which is to raise money in the capital markets via equity and debt to continue buying more Bitcoin. His business just announced plans to raise $42 billion over the next three years for this very purpose.

This plan has worked tremendously well, as MicroStrategy stock has skyrocketed 1,830% since that first Bitcoin purchase. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has generated a total return of 81% during that same period. It's hard to argue with the numbers.

However, Saylor thinks that by 2045, Bitcoin's price will reach $13 million per coin, translating to an other-worldly gain of almost 19,000% from today's levels. He believes that if 7% of global wealth finds itself owning Bitcoin, up from about 0.1% today, then the price can reach that lofty target. On an annualized basis, this would mean a gain of 28% per year. That would certainly outpace the stock market by a wide margin.

Bitcoin as an escape valve

It's helpful to think of Bitcoin as an asset that is truly separate from the current monetary and financial architecture and that's not controlled by a single entity. As more people learn about Bitcoin's attractive characteristics, particularly that it has a fixed supply cap of 21 million, they won't struggle to become bullish on it. Saylor feels that simply having exposure to a finite financial asset, especially when compared to the constantly exploding money supply, seems like a smart move.