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Regular readers of FT Alphaville may have the impression that current and previous authors are unanimously skeptical of cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin in particular. This is correct.
FTAV posts from June 2011 to today show that Bitcoin is a negative-sum game played in a protocol that is extremely smart and hypothetically useful as a unit of account, but chronically inefficient as a traditional medium of exchange. , and may have communicated the idea that it had been compromised. as a store of value. Our post may also have promoted the idea that Bitcoin’s price is arbitrary hype, divorced from any utility the token may have. Because it is easy to replicate the utility provided by said token, and therefore the intrinsic value comes from sunk costs. Strengthening infrastructure alongside intangibles such as regulatory acquiescence, interconnectivity with the mainstream financial system once touted as an antidote, and the souvenir allure of “being first.”
We support each and every one of those posts.
Nevertheless, with the price of Bitcoin recently surpassing $100,000, it appears that a significant number of commenters feel that we deserve an apology given our longstanding cynicism.
If you’ve ever chosen in the last 14 years not to purchase a product that has increased numbers based on our coverage, we’re sorry. I’ll be happy if the numbers go up. And we apologize if you misinterpreted our cynicism towards cryptocurrencies as a declaration of support for tradfi. Because we hate it too.
