The frustration’s starting to kick in again.
Bitcoin’s biggest bears have suffered another blow: BTC back above $100,000 and holding it.
Wasn’t this “bubble” supposed to burst by now?
Environmental activists advocate for Bitcoin’s blockchain to transition to Proof-of-Stake for significantly improved energy efficiency.
However, they lack an understanding of the enormous complexity of this task, let alone its feasibility after more than 16 years of records across this censorship-resistant distributed ledger.
They also fail to distinguish energy intensity from the types of power sources used to run nodes and mining equipment. Let’s not forget that it’s much easier to turn Bitcoin ASIC miners on and off to harness an oversupply of power than it is to get power plants to adjust their output accordingly.
Additionally, all commodities, particularly precious metals, have extensive environmental impacts, but I digress.
Anti-Bitcoiners, in general, whether they’re maximalists for a particular altcoin or hate Bitcoin, believe it’s overrated and will eventually crash.
One of its biggest critics is renowned trader Gary Stevenson, of Gary’s Economics, who is adamant that Bitcoin will go to zero.
“Bitcoin, you know that one day it falls to zero…Bitcoin is musical chairs. You go around, and everybody’s hoping they’re not the guy holding when it drops to zero. It’s so easy to sell these trades because all of these trades are designed such that everybody makes money until everybody gets killed.”
Gary Stevenson interview, February 4, 2025.
Some would think he’s just targeting Bitcoin, but his comments throughout the interview liken crypto trading to a gambling addiction.
There is some truth to this, as most cryptocurrencies are largely speculative with little to no practical use case.
However, this does a disservice to Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, Cardano, BNB Chain and other L1s with legitimate use cases.
Moreover, he doesn’t distinguish between crypto trading and buying BTC and reputable altcoins (such as ETH, XRP, SOL, ADA, and BNB) for long-term holdings.
I believe it is a more rational approach to Bitcoin and altcoins to avoid trading them if you don’t know what you’re doing. Rather, you should focus on buying and holding crypto, spending what you can afford (and are willing) to lose.
While you’re less likely to experience asymmetric gains in this asset class compared to a few years ago, there’s still money to be made.
With over 98% of Bitcoin addresses in profit, it has been riskier not to invest in Bitcoin.
Despite this space gradually evolving – Ethereum’s Pectra upgrades enable smart-contract wallets and other benefits, a push by Jack Dorsey, Jake Mallers, and other Bitcoin enthusiasts for the Lightning Network on Bitcoin, as well as greater interoperability between chains – many people still treat this technology as “pointless tech.”
Case in point:
“Its utter pointlessness may have even helped. The lack of consensus about crypto’s purpose might be the very reason it never dies.”
Gilad Edelman (The Atlantic) > ‘Why Crypto Just Won’t Die’
The ”lack of consensus about crypto’s purpose” is no surprise, because it serves multiple functions:
– decentralised, censorship-resistant stores-of-value with a predictable inflation rate (Bitcoin)
– decentralised finance (DeFi) – Aave, Uniswap, Ethena, Raydium, Pendle
– P2P payment networks and currencies, particularly ultra-fast and cheap alternatives to remittances (XRP Ledger, Solana, BNB Chain, etc.)
– Tokenisation of real-world assets
– Greater transparency and traceability offered by permissionless (public) blockchains
– NFTs and other digital collectibles
Additional thoughts
Many steadfastly mock this asset class and its underlying technology. To them, it serves no purpose, and it never will, likely because (Western) societies have survived and thrived without it, thus treating it as pure speculation.
Even though many of us reading this live comfortably, it doesn’t mean we have it all sorted.
Considering the 1.4 billion unbanked people worldwide, many of whom still exist in the US, don’t tell me the system’s working well for everyone.
When Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Dave Ramsey, Gary Stevenson, and other successful financial personalities and business leaders repeatedly dismiss cryptocurrency, others take note.
They’re successful, so they must know what they’re talking about.
Not necessarily.
For others, there’s a hint of desperation, as they strongly believe that someday this “Ponzi scheme” will come crashing down.
So far, it’s been copium at its finest, or they couldn’t care less about Bitcoin because they’ve already made their fortunes and remain largely unaffected by Bitcoin’s volatility.
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I will never forget an interaction I had with a rideshare passenger in 2018 (when I drove on the side), who told me they bought ETH at $10, sold all of it at $6 per coin, only to see it skyrocket to $1,400 in late 2017.
The grief in his eyes was unforgettable.
The harder crypto pumps, the more regrets and resentment we’ll see.
In other words, regardless of whether Bitcoin and Ethereum die in the future, we’ll see plenty of tears, either of euphoric joy or complete devastation.
A concerning sign is the increasing dominance of institutional investors collectively acquiring millions of BTC on behalf of their clients and shareholders.
Even then, it’s very unlikely to see a coordinated selloff on short notice.
If it does “dump”, then it would likely be due to some capital rotation from BTC into altcoins; however, in reality, this will likely be a temporary pullback, and the flagship crypto will continue to rise.
However, you never know what could happen in the unpredictable world we live in. After 477 obituaries, Bitcoin might one day become obsolete, but so far, I highly doubt it.
If something’s going to destroy Bitcoin’s price or its network, what will it be? Comment below.
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You might also be interested in these stories:
https://medium.com/@cryptowithlorenzo/bitcoin-is-going-to-zero-5562122f5481
https://cryptowithlorenzo.medium.com/why-we-shouldnt-be-investing-in-crypto-6ea5bc7de737
Disclaimers
• N.B. None of this is financial advice; I am not a financial advisor. This information is for educational purposes only. You are ultimately responsible for your investments.
- My opinions in this piece might not reflect those behind any news outlet, person, organisation, or otherwise listed here.
- Please do your own research before investing in any crypto assets, staking, NFTs or other products affiliated with this space.• BTC and ETH account for approximately 55% of my crypto portfolio. XRP and Cardano (ADA) make up another 20%, followed by other altcoins.
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