Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market have witnessed significant volatility as of late, with the price of the flagship digital asset plummeting below the $50,000 price level in recent weeks.
Given the present unfavorable market environment, the number of times Bitcoin has been pronounced dead has risen to 42 so far in 2021, according to 99Bitcoins, the cryptocurrency’s official obituary.
The number of times Bitcoin was declared dead in 2021 is particularly noteworthy since it is three times more than the number of times Bitcoin was declared dead in 2020, which totaled 14 times.
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What are Bitcoin obituaries?
Founded in 2010, the website has functioned as the official repository for all Bitcoin obituaries. The site uses stringent standards to decide what precisely qualifies as an obituary in each instance.
A number of factors are considered in order to determine whether or not an obituary should be published on the website. These include:
“The content itself (not just the headline) must be explicit about the fact that Bitcoin is or will be worthless (no “maybe” or “could”).”
Additional requirements necessitate that content must be produced by someone with a significant following or a website that has a high number of visitors.
In light of the fact that obituaries may only be submitted in English at this moment, it begs the question of how much content is out there suggesting Bitcoin is dead.
Bitcoin could become worthless
The most recent death recorded occurred on December 14, 2021, with the price of Bitcoin at $46,612, the eulogy made by the Bank of England’s deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, who expressed concern that the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies may represent a serious danger to the country’s established financial system, which has been in place for decades.
“Their price can vary quite considerably and [Bitcoins] could theoretically or practically drop to zero.” he said.
Another Bank of England official echoed his pessimism, stating that Bitcoin may become “worthless” and that anybody who invests in the flagship cryptocurrency should be prepared to lose all they have invested.
A bank employee who works in the division of stakeholder and media engagement, Thomas Belsham, wrote the following:
“Only 21 million Bitcoin will ever be created. And that might be worth something. That scarcity is why some people refer to Bitcoin as ‘digital gold’. But the very scarcity on which Bitcoin is based might also be its undoing. Its scarcity may even, ultimately, render Bitcoin worthless.”
Bitcoin may not last much longer, says respected professor
Distinguished professor of international policy at Cornell University, Eswar Prasad, has speculated that Bitcoin’s existence may not be sustainable for long.
The lack of efficiency and incapacity to allow exchange as a form of payment, according to Prasad, might cause the first cryptocurrency to fade out.
“Bitcoin itself may not last that much longer <…> Bitcoin’s use of the blockchain technology is not very efficient <…> Given that Bitcoin is not serving well as a medium of exchange, I don’t think it’s going to have any fundamental value other than whatever investor’s faith leads it to have,” said Prasad.
Despite the number of Bitcoin deaths in 2021, Bitcoin ROI by Finbold shows that the return-on-investment (%ROI) of BTC against the USD currency is 59.75% year to date (YTD).
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $46,895, down 0.18% in the last 24 and 3.35% over the previous seven days, with a total market worth of $886 billion, according to CoinMarketCap statistics.
