Is Bitcoin Dead? Why the Rumors Are False

Despite 476 obituaries since its inception, Bitcoin's resilience, decentralized nature, limited supply, and growing adoption refute critics' arguments. Is Bitcoin dead? Bitcoin is not only alive but thriving.

If Bitcoin could talk, it might quote Mark Twain: “The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.” In the 15-year lifespan of the decentralized currency, 476 notable obituaries have been written, but have been proven justified. As of March 2024, Bitcoin has reached a brand new all-time high, while Bitcoin obituaries have reached an all-time low. Like rock ‘n’ roll, Bitcoin isn’t dead.

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476 Bitcoin Obituaries

According to 99bitcoins.com, there have been 476 Bitcoin obituaries since the release of Bitcoin in 2009.

Defined as content that is “explicit about the fact that Bitcoin is or will be worthless” and “produced by a person with a notable following or a site with substantial traffic,” the first such piece of content was published in December 2010, stating “Either [Bitcoin] will remain a novelty forever or it will transition from novelty status to dead faster than you can blink.”

Since then, obituaries reached an all-time high in 2017 (ironically the same year the price of BTC reached its then-all-time high), with 124 being published that year.

Annual numbers declined to just 14 claims of Bitcoin’s untimely death in 2020 before rising back to 47 in 2021.

In 2023, there were just 8 such claims, with 1 so far in 2024.

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Who Thinks Bitcoin Will Die?

Bitcoin has had more than its fair share of big-name detractors.

Financial commentator Peter Schiff infamously referred to it as “Tulip Mania 2.0” in 2013, while in 2023, geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan declared “Bitcoin will go negative” on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

He contradicted himself just a few seconds later by stating that the price of bitcoin can only go up due to its limited supply, so it’s difficult to take his claim seriously.

Economist Paul Krugman has made the popular critique of Bitcoin that it’s a long-running Ponzi scheme, but has at least admitted that he’s given up predicting its imminent demise.

https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1395073993967816705

Warren Buffett is another who isn’t exactly fair from being fond of the digital asset. The billionaire investor called it “rat poison squared” and has often emphasized that it has no intrinsic value as it’s a non-productive asset.

Why Do People Think Bitcoin Is Dead?

Individual viewpoints can be explained by looking at their particular backgrounds. Warren Buffet, for example, has made his billions by investing in productive assets, particularly companies. An asset like Bitcoin, which doesn’t actually produce anything, would never appeal to him. Similarly, he isn’t a fan of gold. Peter Schiff, on the other hand, is a massive proponent of gold, demonstrating that anti-Bitcoiners aren’t necessarily on the same team. This actually gives us a clue as to why people keep claiming Bitcoin is either dead or dying—it lies outside their field of expertise.

Challenging Established Expertise

This actually gives us a clue as to why people keep claiming Bitcoin is either dead or dying—it lies outside their field of expertise.

Experts are used to knowing and understanding things. If something seems to be in their area but they don’t understand it, they reject it.

Bitcoin: Beyond Traditional Frameworks

Peter Schiff and Warren Buffett are investors, and Bitcoin seems relevant to investing. However, bitcoin is neither a physical commodity nor a productive asset, so Schiff and Buffett reject it.

Peter Ziehan is a proponent of the American-led globalized system. He’s consistently downplayed de-dollarization and supported the fiat monetary system. Obviously, rejecting Bitcoin is consistent with his personal views.

Paul Krugman is an economist who, like most economists, subscribes to the modern school of economics that was born in the early 20th Century. Bitcoin is based on classical, or “Austrian” economics, and so many modern economists believe it to be unworkable.

Conflicting Views Among Bitcoin Critics

None of these people actually agree on why bitcoin is supposedly worthless. In this way, they are like flat earthers. Many of them disagree on exactly how things work on a flat earth or how many phenomena can be explained. In fact, many flat earth believers contradict each other and themselves. But they all agree on one thing: the earth is flat.

Just as Peter Schiff and Warren Buffett contradict each other about what to invest in, and just as Peter Zeihan contradicts himself within the same conversation, all they can agree on is that bitcoin has no value.

Could the Critics Be Right?

But could they be right? Could Bitcoin really die?

When considering this question, there is really no better answer than this one from Michael J Casey:

“Oh really, people! Bitcoin is going to die this year? How exactly will that happen? Who is going to shut it down? There’s no person or company with a kill switch for Bitcoin’s open-source codebase; so you’re suggesting it will happen organically, via the collective actions of everyone involved in it? You think every single one of the tens of millions of people who’ve invested time and effort into it – the miners, the developers, the investors, the users – none of whom has any way of coordinating with each other – is going to simultaneously walk away from it? Okaaaaay…”

When you take into consideration how Bitcoin really works, it doesn’t look like dying any time soon.

Bitcoin's Resilience: Why It Keeps Proving Critics Wrong

Bitcoin is not only decentralized but designed with a limited supply that can't be arbitrarily inflated. This built-in scarcity and resistance to manipulation fuel its value proposition. Additionally, the global Bitcoin network has proven remarkably resilient to technical attacks and downtime throughout its history. These factors, combined with growing adoption and the development of infrastructure around Bitcoin, contribute to its continued strength, even amidst the skepticism of critics.

Why Bitcoin Persists:

• Decentralized: No single entity controls the network, making it resistant to shutdown attempts.
• Limited Supply: No more than 21 million bitcoins will ever exist, contributing to its value.
• Technological Robustness: The Bitcoin network has a history of overcoming technical challenges.
• Growing Adoption: Institutional and individual use cases for Bitcoin are steadily increasing.

In Conclusion

Bitcoin was just a year old when the first obituary was written, and since then there have been almost 500 more.

However, as it gets older and older, and the price keeps rising, fewer and fewer obituaries are written.

Reports of bitcoin’s worthlessness come exclusively from people who simply refuse to put in the effort to learn about the decentralized currency, especially “experts” who feel affronted by something they don’t understand intruding on their area of work.

Now, bitcoin is worth more than ever, with no sign of slowing down or going to zero. Institutional and public acceptance of it is only growing, and more claims of its imminent demise are being sheepishly walked back.

Its decentralized nature makes it unlikely to die organically, and basically impossible to kill. All in all, Bitcoin certainly isn’t dead, and doesn’t look like it's dying any time soon.

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