Bitcoin Millionaires Aren’t What They Used to Be

Bitcoin Millionaires Aren’t What They Used to Be

"Psst, I'm buying Bitcoin“ sounded like a hot tip during lockdown, but not anymore. In the (almost) six months it's taken for the cryptocurrency to soar past $30,000 to $63,000 and back again “” it's now hovering around $33,000 “” a lot has changed in the real and virtual world. And, despite the insistence of the laser-eyed crowd who claim they're holding on no matter what, not all of it is good for cryptocurrency.

The speculative fever gripping hedge-fund managers, bored day traders and billionaires has cooled. Stanley Druckenmiller, for one, has cashed out part of his bet. Aggressive 100-times leveraged trading has fueled panic selling.

In the light of post-lockdown summer, a lot of this year's milestone events “” Tesla Inc.'s Bitcoin buy, Coinbase Global Inc.'s stock-market listing and El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender “” look like frothy red flags, not proof of maximalist haiku that "Bitcoin Is Inevitable.“

Competing narratives are emerging, despite Bitcoiners' efforts to shout down any criticism as "Nocoiner“ FUD, the cool way to refer to fear, uncertainty and doubt. The story of a golden ticket to wealth is harder to spread after a 50% drawdown, as is the idea of real-world adoption beyond trading.

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