5 Times Media Companies Were Wrong About Bitcoin
This article was originally written by Nathan Laibuch on Nate’s Pen.
Bitcoin is as interesting as it is confusing. Although the bitcoin community is growing at a fast rate, there are those who still believe that it is a bubble that will soon burst in the faces of all those who believe in it.
Media companies have largely contributed to the skepticism around bitcoin. 99Bitcoins reports that Bitcoin’s fall has been predicted 359 times in the last 9 years.
Most of these predictions were made, and are still being made, by media companies who don’t understand the fundamental workings of bitcoin.
Below are 5 examples of incidences when major media companies predicted the fall of Bitcoin.
1. Forbes, 2011
So, That’s the End of Bitcoin Then
In 2011, Forbes published an article titled “So, That’s the End of Bitcoin Then”. The article, which unapologetically referred to the then-struggling digital currency as “an experiment” was imprudently inspired by the woes that had befallen a popular bitcoin exchange known as Mt. Gox.
The Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange enjoyed enviable glory in its early days and even after the Forbes article but closed doors to traders and bitcoin enthusiasts in February 2014.
One fateful Sunday in June 2011, the price of Bitcoin on Mt. Gox plummeted from $17 to almost nothing in a few minutes. The exchange was forced to indefinitely suspend trading blaming the incident on a comprised user account. It was reported that more than 60,000 users had their information stolen.
Subsequently, Forbes took the opportunity to predict the end of Bitcoin.
“Bitcoins aren’t secure, as both the recent theft and this password problem show. They’re not liquid, nor a store of value, as the price collapse shows and if they’re none of those things then they’ll not be a great medium of exchange either as who would want to accept them?” the article read.
However, by 2013 Bitcoin was still growing at a fast rate and witnessing massive mainstream adoption. For instance, on March 28th 2013, Bitcoin capitalization surpassed 1 billion USD. In 2017 and 2018, the digital currency witnessed huge success and a lot of businesses started accepting it as payment.
2. Business Insider, 2013
Bitcoin Is A Joke
Business Insider is one of the most authoritative digital media commanding massive readership. In November 2013, the publication referred to Bitcoin as a joke. Joe Weisenthal, who is a former executive editor at BI wrote:
“…I’m not totally sure if I’ve called it a bubble, but I have spoken negatively of it, and I’ll say that I still think it’s a joke, and probably in a bubble.”
Joe’s article was in part a response to sentiments by another writer (Timothy B Lee) from The Washington Post who had called on skeptics to admit that they were wrong about bitcoin since its price was on historic rise.
“Now, first of all, I find the premise of Lee’s post to be hilarious. The currency has been surging several percents every day lately, and that’s evidence that it’s not in a bubble?” the business Insider article reads.
About a month later, the same Business Insider writer featured another article titled “I’m Changing My Mind About Bitcoin”. In the article, Joe admits that he had been wrong about Bitcoin the entire time.
3. New York Post, 2014
… a fake currency
In a 2014 Q & A article titled “Dear John: Take this bitcoin of advice”, business journalist John Crudele called Bitcoin ‘fake currency’ and ‘a confidence scheme’.
One of his readers was asking for advice on the best sources to learn about Bitcoin. In what appeared to be pure distaste, John replied:
“Dear J.A.K. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. I also wouldn’t tell you how to make bombs because, like bitcoins, you are probably going to hurt yourself.”
He went ahead to label Bitcoin as a ‘confidence game’ that was bound to end.
“Bitcoins are a fake currency that is nothing more than a confidence scheme. Their only value is that there are a few layers of gullible people who are willing to accept them as some form of payment. Eventually, this confidence game will end.” he wrote.
4. The Guardian, 2015
…the hype has all but disappeared.
A November 2015 article by The Guardian titled “Former bitcoin companies are erasing their embarrassing ‘bit’s” was based on the allegation that companies were running away from Bitcoin because it was like a ‘sinking ship’.
According to the article, companies which initially dealt exclusively in Bitcoin were rebranding and realigning their objectives since bitcoin’s end was nearing.
The article reported that the hype around bitcoin back then was thinning and would soon disappear.
“So spare a thought for the companies scrabbling to jump off the bitcoin ship before it sinks” the article reads.
It’s 2019 and the bitcoin ship has not sunk yet.
5. Gizmodo, 2011
The Bitcoin Is Dying. Whatever.
Perhaps the most damning and insulting article about bitcoin is a 2011 one by Gizmodo. The article’s title blatantly reads “The Bitcoin Is Dying. Whatever.”
From the title alone, it is easy to tell that the writer had no interest in bitcoin and was, therefore, in no position to make any predictions. He blamed the impending death of bitcoin on the alleged fact that it had absolutely no foundation.
“…the biggest problem with Bitcoin: it’s founded upon nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
And in what sounds like a farewell to the ‘dying bitcoin’ the writer ended the article with this highly sarcastic paragraph:
“So Bitcoin, we’ll remember the good times, like the time that one guy who got heat stroke while mining Bitcoins. Or the time there was the great heist caper that shut down trading site Mt. Gox for an entire day. The lulz were abundant. But frankly, it’s time for you to go. Farewell.”
To Gizmodo’s dismay, Bitcoin is still alive and growing 8 years later and doesn’t show the slightest hint of going anywhere.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is a highly speculative market and it is only right for skeptics to predict its end. On the contrary, however, the digital currency is thriving by the day even with the recent surge in altcoins. The worst that can happen is a drop in prices but to say that bitcoin has an end is ignorance of the highest order.
About Author
Nathan Laibuch is a professional freelance writer and SEO expert. If you need brilliant and actionable content written for your website, email me at nathan@natespen.com.
