Economist: Crypto isn't cool anymore

[m2017]

The gist: Bitcoin is mainstream now, and can be bet on with the same tools your grandpa uses to buy stocks (ETF), and is absolutely mainstream from a regulatory standpoint.

Everyone wanted bitcoin to become more mainstream, right? Well, here it is. Bitcoin has ceased to be a geek's toy and has become a speculative tool for Wall Street wolves.

And even the president of the USA is a Bitcoin speculator.

And you, me, them, us - everyone? Anyone who buys low and sells high is a speculator. Anyone who makes even a penny extra on a deal.

All of this means that there is nothing "counterculture" about Bitcoin any longer: it's just another button on your investment app--another product among thousands of possibilities.

What about decentralization and the deflationary model, which clearly remain "countercultural" to the traditional financial system?

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year.

This economist seems to know nothing about BTC-cycles.

The question is, how does it get back?

Exactly the same way did all the previous times: reaching a new ATH.

I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

Who said bitcoin has lost its coolness ? Bitcoin is just beginning its rise. It's just that bitcoin's "coolness" has changed its form, but it hasn't lost it.

[Hanadawa]

Maybe OP is one of those investors that thought about Bitcoin to be a get rich quick scheme, where immediately profit is awarded after investment, never knew it doesn't work like that.
Normally, Bitcoin journey is a very rough process, it isn't sweet as most people think, it's not cool the way op also thinks but overall, Bitcoin is cool only when you understand the game.
It's a game of patiency, consistent accumulation, and not been ready to withdraw anytime soon.

The mindset that Bitcoin can make you rich quickly was only relevant a few years ago, or at the beginning of its release. In the Satoshi era, or before Bitcoin first hit $100, I thought Bitcoin could be one of the best future investment options because everyone could still afford at least one Bitcoin, and today its price is enough to buy a house or a new car. In today's era, Bitcoin's role has shifted to being an option for storing your fiat currency to protect against inflation. This means Bitcoin won't experience significant price increases, but you won't lose your money's value due to inflation. Yes, this may sound similar to investing in gold, but the difference is that with gold, especially physical gold, you'll need several resources to safeguard it. And if your gold is worth hundreds or millions of dollars, it will be difficult to transport and requires extra security. For some, this is inefficient compared to storing millions of dollars in Bitcoin.

[Somegory]

Cryptocurrencies have not been cool before because they are just advanced pyramid gambling schemes which some people create to make many just like Trump created Trump meme coin.

Have money, create a project, make it a scam project is the reality. If it is not scam like the Trump coin, make money like Trump and dump it. Create another one and so on is the reality.

Cryptocurrencies are for gamblers.

Just go for bitcoin that is the store of value.

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

He should be patient and see what happens before 2029. Bitcoin will get to all time high.

The term crypto means the same as Bitcoin for OP.

Look at his topic, he said crypto but the content is talking about Bitcoin.

It's like saying that Bitcoin have achieved everything that's there to achieve, and from now on it's the end, but OP don't understand that hype and adoption will always be a thing, around the world only very few people still hold Bitcoin, there are millions of million people who are not buying or using Bitcoin yet.

It's always in a bear market that people will start believing nonsense from writeups online, the end of bitcoin is always near in a bear market.

[jcojci]

Bitcoin will get it back when the rally comes again. Many people will see the phenomenon is back and will surprises them with the new ATH. We see that is happens once in 4 years but that could change in the future.

Bitcoin still cool even if the price decline and some people leaves Bitcoin because of desperation. Bitcoin are in the lowest but some people know that is the right time to prepare for the next big things coming.

So it is better to prepare in any situation and conditions while you allocate your money to buy.

[abaeze]

Bitcoin is a digital asset that has a global store of value and acts as a hedge against inflation, which is why people have started using it as digital gold. It is true that Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin as an alternative digital technological defense against government and bank corruption, but now its design, technical security, evaluation and adaptation, and fixed supply have attracted people from all walks of life and investors, so even the government itself has started adopting it. Although they were opposed at one time, those opponents have now started adapting it, so I think mass adaptation never stops Bitcoin's coolness, but rather increases its usefulness and dependence.

For example: When Electricity, Internet or social media X, Facebook were launched, there were very few people using it, but now we have become dependent on them.

In the beginning, each of these was a new and a little "cool" thing. Common people did not use it, but later or now it is a daily necessity.  So, no one is thinking about whether these things are cool or not, but rather they have become very useful now.

[lionheart78]

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

For most that losses its usefulness yes  it is a one-way street from reaching the peak to being worthless, but is Bitcoin like that?  I think no, the current Bitcoin market trend is only a natural event of its market cycle.  This is not because of what the economist states, but it is because the Bitcoin market cycle is like that.  Now, the question about how it gets back can be answered by the previous cycle phenomenon. 

The Bitcoin market is yet to be saturated, there is still lots of room to grow and lots of places to get adopted.  With this situation there is no doubt that Bitcoin will be able to come back and even record another high.  Those said economist just follow their own logic but never consider the natural flow of the Bitcoin market and its cycle.

[lizarder]

The gist: Bitcoin is mainstream now, and can be bet on with the same tools your grandpa uses to buy stocks (ETF), and is absolutely mainstream from a regulatory standpoint. And even the president of the USA is a Bitcoin speculator. All of this means that there is nothing "counterculture" about Bitcoin any longer: it's just another button on your investment app--another product among thousands of possibilities.

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

If we relate this to a Bitcoin cycle, I think things will return to normal once Bitcoin gains momentum to recover. If you've been familiar with Bitcoin for a while, you'll notice this situation often occurs when Bitcoin reaches its highest point and every sharp drop causes some people to withdraw their money to buy other assets. This phenomenon is nothing new in Bitcoin's history, as I've personally seen cycles like this often occur when Bitcoin reaches its highest point.

Under certain conditions, things will return to normal and Bitcoin could reach its highest price again when momentum occurs. This is nothing to worry about, as Bitcoin's trajectory often occurs like this. We just have to wait and see when the momentum returns and Bitcoin regains its usual appeal. What we need to do is remain calm and continue taking steps to achieve sustainable investment.

[Easteregg69]

It's so easy now. I can get it in the bank. NO more waiting. Where the money is at. In the bank. Unless nyse is closed..

Address this. Cheers. Paying huge fee's since i know it's rewarding.

OP. I don't do defi on BRC20 anymore. Since it meets hostile opposition due to limitations on the network.

Rebel without a cause. Tank the boat.

[OcTradism]

If we relate this to a Bitcoin cycle, I think things will return to normal once Bitcoin gains momentum to recover. If you've been familiar with Bitcoin for a while, you'll notice this situation often occurs when Bitcoin reaches its highest point and every sharp drop causes some people to withdraw their money to buy other assets. This phenomenon is nothing new in Bitcoin's history, as I've personally seen cycles like this often occur when Bitcoin reaches its highest point.

Bitcoin market cycle has worked very well while not all cycles can be the same and there are differences among cycles. Each new market cycle, there is a repeatedly saying "this time, this cycle is different" and we heard that in this market cycle too. Eventually, now in March 2026, I think we can confirm that "this time is not different" and the history of Bitcoin market cycle works well again.

Moving onward to the future, will history repeats itself and we will witness two bearish years in 2026 and 2027 before bull run in 2028. It will be likely so but it might come sooner or later, before or after the Bitcoin halving in around April or May 2028. Like in this cycle, it's the first time ever Bitcoin makes its new all time high before a Bitcoin halving.

[Alpha Marine]

Is the goal of Bitcoin to be cool? And if by cool he means "used by only a few people", then he doesn't understand the meaning of "cool".
The fact that Bitcoin is now mainstream shows its growth. Bitcoin is not against its own growth. It still has the same features it had when it was first launched so nothing about it has changed.
Pointing out that people like the president of the US are owning Bitcoin is proving the point of bitcoin that it is free for all. No matter the country, political ideology, or religion.
I don't know how cool he wants it to be, but it is still teh same Bitcoin and its growing.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

The thing is, much of Bitcoin’s popularity stems from its price. And as far as the price is concerned, it doesn’t matter that it has risen from less than a penny to over seventy-odd thousand in the last 17 years; the point is that last year the price was disappointing, whilst other assets were profitable. What’s more, people see such a high price and consider it too expensive to buy; even though you can buy satoshis, people focus on the price of a whole bitcoin, which is why many companies split their shares – for the psychological effect.

Today, the hype is on other assets, such as AI companies.

[davis196]

Video: "Crypto isn't cool anymore"

https://www.economist.com/video/CVan3v3n7ga/ecJNYicn?f=%2F

The gist: Bitcoin is mainstream now, and can be bet on with the same tools your grandpa uses to buy stocks (ETF), and is absolutely mainstream from a regulatory standpoint. And even the president of the USA is a Bitcoin speculator. All of this means that there is nothing "counterculture" about Bitcoin any longer: it's just another button on your investment app--another product among thousands of possibilities.

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

Bitcoin is mainstream? Wasn't that the whole point of global Bitcoin adoption to begin with? I agree that Bitcoin isn't a part of the "cyberpunk" or "counterculture" anymore, but that was the price we had to pay in order to achieve global recognition and a 125K USD ATH Bitcoin price. Cyberpunk is too niche and not very popular. BTC had to be popularized among a broad audience.
Crypto was never cool in the eyes of the haters and skeptics and it will stay uncool forever. There were some haters and "experts", who were saying that Bitcoin is boring now. How come Bitcoin is boring? The price dropped from 125K to 65K USD, but it recovered to 73K USD(which might be temporary). Is this boring?

[bitbollo]

This has been a real interesting point and we had to understand that decentralization would bring an ETF or any other entity to get their space in bitcoin/crypto.

For sure the chance with crypto is completely different because these have been designed (and are designed/managed) to this "financial entity".
The distribution of btc has been fair... or we can expect at least as been fair. It is still fair!
Once it will reach a "faboulous evaluation" (literally now is quoting just a fraction of big companies) there you will see again that you can always get "adavantage".
Of course bitcoin has not been designed for this. All inflationary causes are a clear advertisement for the next outcomes

[Outhue]

Video: "Crypto isn't cool anymore"

https://www.economist.com/video/CVan3v3n7ga/ecJNYicn?f=%2F

The gist: Bitcoin is mainstream now, and can be bet on with the same tools your grandpa uses to buy stocks (ETF), and is absolutely mainstream from a regulatory standpoint. And even the president of the USA is a Bitcoin speculator. All of this means that there is nothing "counterculture" about Bitcoin any longer: it's just another button on your investment app--another product among thousands of possibilities.

The Economist points to this as a reason BTC's price has declined by about half in the last year. The question is, how does it get back? I can't think of any cultural phenomenon that lost its coolness and then regained it. Usually that's a one way street.

Let them spread what they want, if they don't do this how will we buy Bitcoin at a cheaper rate? We should be happy that this is going on, we need many more news and FUD like this one.
DCA strategy will be more effective, mining difficulty will have to go lower than before, making solving blocks a bit easier, it is all for the greater good. For one reason or another Bitcoin will always retrace in price, for Bitcoin to look promising again the price has to go all the way down just like 2018 and 2022.

I don't believe that this is the bottom, it's normal to see price action in march just like the past but we will still go down from here, this is what I believe so I will have that patience for now, I will buy when I feel the time is right, every Fud is a good opportunity for those who knows what they are doing, don't fade buying opportunities when FUD on Bitcoin is in motion.

[Kelward]

I can understand if you generalize cryptocurrency and say that it isn't cool anymore because of the many scams that have happened and new projects that are being schemed everyday, if you've lost money in crypto projects you will be skeptical about buying cryptocurrency. But if you're being specific about Bitcoin I'll say that it doesn't have to be cool everytime to impress anybody because it has proven it's worth over past circles that it has become a store of value. During bear run a lot of analysts will be spreading FUD this is normal but as soon as Bitcoin begins to bull all the narratives will change. Buy Bitcoin in dip and hodl till that is the winning strategy for this bear season