Bitcoin Millionaires Aren’t What They Used to Be
- Date: 24-Jun-2021
- Source: Asharq AL-awsat
- Sector:Financial Markets
- Country:Middle East
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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