Posted on 02/26/2026 8:30:06 AM PST by Miami Rebel
Since its peak last fall, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has lost almost half its value. Nearly $2 trillion of wealth has evaporated from the global crypto market since October.
We have one question. What took so long? Outside of crimes and scams, the technology is useless, and its economics are even worse.
....At a time when investors have grown skittish about riskier assets, the value of Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50 percent since October, dropping to below $70,000, proving it was only a matter of time before crypto faced the critical lens it always needed but never truly received.
....One of the industry’s main facilitators, Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican nicknamed the Crypto Queen, received over $50,000 in campaign contributions from the crypto industry and investors just weeks before sponsoring a pro-crypto bill.
....If this technology is that revolutionary, why weren’t any of the giant tech firms using it? Were they too shortsighted to see the technological revolution unfolding before them? Or was the technology — which we learned was essentially a painfully slow and expensive database — just not that special?
Crypto is at best a form of private money, which has a long history of ending up in financial ruin. At worst, it is a speculative and highly volatile asset with almost no practical use, whose backers were (and still are) constantly trying to embed it into the financial system, both to increase its adoption and, should the market nosedive, stick taxpayers with the bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
But I'm pretty sure the writers at the NYT don't like it is because it represents something out of control of 'the State'.
I think the administration is doing more for “stablecoins” rather than bitcoin.
Stable coins are created on a 1:1 basis with US treasuries. It will allow for dollar denominated purchases across a blockchain. This would be a benefit for people who don’t have/want bank accounts. Merchants would be able to eliminate their credit card processing fees. It would increase the use of dollars around the world.
Say for example, you are buying something in Nigeria and you don’t have a bank account. But you can get paid in a dollar based stable coins. You can then buy things using those. The benefit? The original stable coins would be backed by dollars. It would keep the dollar in demand.
People using their phones to bank is much more common in the rest of the world than it is in the US.
Being the leader in the that technology supports the dollar in the world economy.
I dunno….I bought a new Silverado Trail Boss a few years ago with dollars that came from bitcoin sales. Isn’t that “wealth?”
What do people who own bitcoin sell it to others for? Do they sell it for dollars?
If bitcoin is safe and more valuable than dollars, why do those who own bitcoin sell it for something that is not safe and is less valuable?
“I dunno….I bought a new Silverado Trail Boss a few years ago with dollars that came from bitcoin sales. Isn’t that “wealth?”
Yes, and it is now a depreciating asset. Not that there is anything WRONG with that!
Now I agree that crypto is certainly not the best solution to the problem. That would be for governments to make the difficult decisions needed in order to, if not completely balance the budget, at least get the borrowing down to sane and reasonable levels.
Crypto is the sort of thing that will always and inevitably happen when more and more people start losing faith in the predominant fiat currency. It's not a solution as much as it is a warning that should be heeded.
The problem it solves is being able to engage in transactions globally with a uniform currency that is next to impossible to steal.
The US dollar is only “valuable” because of your faith in its value. It isn’t backed by gold, neither should it be.
You also can’t print endless bitcoins, unlike regular currency.
It’s not untraceable. It’s nearly impossible with today’s tech to break into the wallet, but you can trace the transaction to the owners. Cash and heavy metals still rule that space.
It’s a $2.5 trillion industry and banks are adopting it quickly. Banks don’t rush into new tech. They wait for it to be proven then buy up all the companies involved.
It makes transfers of cash instantaneous anywhere in the world. It’s nearly impossible to hack the block chain
, and it is fast becoming the currencies of many smaller nations through stablecoins. It is very bullish for the USD.
Some people who comment on it with the qualifier that they know nothing about it, doesn’t make them sound smart.
Some cryptos are tied to performance and assets of businesses. Kind of like stock in the company but not SEC connected. This also allows for financial transactions without a bank in the middle.
I needed the truck and didn’t take a loan out…
I guess the thing with my experience with bitcoin is that the cycle of ups and downs is pretty regular. During the last cycle, bitcoin was always touted as losing 50% and people mocked it. At the same time, Netflix was down more on a percentage basis.
The Silver peak in 2008 (or so) was about $50 and it dropped back to the teens. Just in the last year or so has it risen again. And now…it’s lost about 30% from the highs.
All “speculative” plays have these characteristics. But don’t be beblind to the fact that you need to reap a little bit at the peaks and distribute them elsewhere.
I didn’t realize Crypto was now losing money. I don’t have any. I just thought I was supposed to get some.
I have always found it interesting that Crypto is measured for value against non-crypto money, like dollars.
Crypt ⚰️
This must be why Goldman Sachs has bitcoin, why Blackrock runs a Bitcoin ETF and why the US government holds 328,000 Bitcoins it has seized here and there. Wonder why they didn’t just wipe the accounts out... or give it away to Ukraine or India?
If it had no value and was certain to be tulips, why bother keeping it?
I guess I better trust the NYT. They have been right about so many other things./s
When this idea of “buttcoin” first came out, I never could figure out how it was supposed to work. Well, I guess it really never was figured out, & it was planned out by those who should be MUCH smarter & more educated than someone like myself.
When this idea of “buttcoin” first came out, I never could figure out how it was supposed to work. Well, I guess it really never was figured out, & it was planned out by those who should be MUCH smarter & more educated than someone like myself.
Remember a few weeks ago when the news was reporting that drinking in America has fallen off a cliff and that brewers, distillers and wineries are having a hard go of it?
The next week the NYT rolls out a story that legalizing weed was a big mistake. Probably a coincidence and nothing to do with advertisers and big money.
I am ignorant about crypto but it seems to me you can have a million dollars in your phone AS LONG AS you have power and internet access and your merchant accepts this nebulous currency…fiat currency is not much better admittedly…tangible assets that you can hold in your hand seem like the safest…but they have to be protected…🤷🏼♂️
I’m glad it worked out for you. I have a tiny amount just to keep up with the price movement. I don’t expect to invest much in it though, everything is going fine.
Opinion is the only thing The New York Times publishes.
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