bitcoinsdead
⸺ Obituary · April 11, 2018

Why Bitcoin Is Bullshit, Explained By An Expert

Vox, Nicholas Weaver
The rationale for these things is that there’s no central authority, which means no one can block or undo a transaction. And so far at least, it’s true that transactions aren’t blocked. But why do you need such a system? Because you’re doing a transaction that a central authority would otherwise block, like paying off a hitman or buying drugs…If that’s what you need money for, the cryptocurrencies are the only game in town. But if you don’t need to buy drugs or hitmen, the cryptocurrencies are vastly less efficient…if you want to buy something you don’t want people to know about, you can just use a pre-paid credit card. There’s still no need for Bitcoin.
Price at death
$6,940
Today
$73,525
Resurrection
×10.6

On 2018-04-11, Nicholas Weaver (Professor, UC Berkeley) declared Bitcoin dead via Vox. Bitcoin was trading at ~$6,940 at the time. The call joins the growing canon of premature obituaries.

The declaration was catalogued on April 11, 2018, when one Bitcoin traded for approximately $6,940. Since then, Bitcoin has appreciated by 10.6× relative to the price on the day Vox pronounced it finished.

⸺ Also in this category ⸺

More from the academic

Coinbase
Buy Bitcoin in 60 seconds. US-regulated.
Open account
Kraken
Lowest fees. Used by institutions.
Start trading
Ledger
Self-custody. Your keys, your coins.
Get hardware wallet
⸺ The Obituary Dispatch ⸺

Every time Bitcoin dies, you hear about it first.

One short email whenever a journalist, economist, or central bank publishes a new Bitcoin obituary. Includes the price at time of death.

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.