Unknown territory? Far from it

You might have read in the news that, once again, Bitcoin is dead. If you’ve double-checked your own portfolio, you might have come to the same conclusion. The whole crypto market has been in the red for the past few days, and, unsurprisingly, every doomsayer has come out of the gate to provide an explanation.

The news has helped push different narratives: the quantum risk, Jeffrey Epstein allegedly being a funder of Bitcoin (and, for some conspiracy theorists, even the founder of Bitcoin). Interestingly enough, no one came to the same conclusion a few days ago when gold and silver lost a combined $5 trillion in capitalisation (twice the entire crypto market capitalisation). We’re used to this double standard, it’s not the first rodeo. Yet every time, it also provides an opportunity to clarify legitimate questions and, in doing so, reinforce the case for digital assets.

With Bitcoin, criticism is an opportunity

Let’s take quantum risk, for instance: our Bitcoin lead researcher, Christopher Bendiksen, has just published a thorough article addressing this question. Without spoiling it, I’ll quote him directly: “we are nowhere near dangerous territory.” On top of that, it’s worth noting that quantum risk wouldn’t be restricted to Bitcoin. The nuclear industry, aviation, global databases, our cloud passwords, and our private lives would all face the same—if not an even higher—level of risk. At least, even without upgrades, Bitcoin already has enough computing power behind it to give a quantum attacker a serious headache. Again, I encourage you to read Chris’ article.

My favourite narrative, despite its tragic circumstances, comes from the recent disclosure of the Epstein files, which suggests involvement of the criminal in funding some Bitcoin Core developers through the Digital Currency Initiative—an organisation created to support developers following the dissolution of the Bitcoin Foundation in 2015. If confirmed, it’s unfortunate, as no one wants to see a cherished innovation tarnished by such a name. But the truth is, it doesn’t really change anything.

Bitcoin is an open-source protocol, which means anyone can audit it, analyse it, and look for flaws in its design. And one thing is certain: there are a lot of smart people on this planet with a strong interest in finding such flaws—and they have failed to do so. The beauty of its singular design—singular because nothing comparable exists for any other asset in the world—is that no one owns Bitcoin’s protocol, or rather, everyone does. Everyone is able to contribute to it, or to fund one of its contributors. Good souls have done it, and doubtful individuals too. That simply means it is working as intended.

The explanation behind the current crypto price action is likely simpler, and less complex than many would like it to be: some holders have exited their positions, and the market is absorbing the selling pressure. As mentioned above, the digital asset market capitalisation is still magnitudes smaller than that of precious metals, and moves like these are always to be expected. We’re not entering unknown territory: it’s on the contrary quite familiar, and it might actually hold its share of opportunities.