Bitcoin Has Been Announced Dead 469 Times, but Unlike 91% of Cryptos That Have Died Since 2014, Bitcoin Is Stronger Than Ever.
Here is why.
It's hard to count the number of times Bitcoin has been announced as dead since its inception.
It's so difficult that one site has decided to make it easier for us by keeping an accurate count of all the announcements of Bitcoin obituaries since its inception.
As of January 19, 2023, the accurate count maintained by 99 Bitcoins shows 469 announcements of the death of Bitcoin since its inception:
This number will continue to grow in the future, as Bitcoin's opponents are sure to continue to denigrate it and announce its imminent death. When you look back a bit, you can find articles like this:
Experience shows that these articles always age badly.
However, a recent report from CoinKickoff gives us a better understanding of why some journalists, economists, bankers, or politicians still venture to announce the imminent death of Bitcoin every year.
As you can see, the number fluctuates from year to year:
The reason these people are taking so much risk with their predictions is that they can see that 91% of the cryptocurrencies from 2014 are now gone. You read that right, 91% of 2014's cryptocurrencies are dead.
I'll let you discover this CoinKickoff report for yourself here: https://coinkickoff.com/dead-crypto-coins/.
The key findings speak for themselves:
704 now-dead coins started in circulation in the crypto-boom of 2017, more than the 224 established in 2016.
2018 was the sector’s most fatal year for cryptocurrency, as 751 coins became defunct.
The highest mortality rate for crypto can be found in 2014. 76.5% of the 793 coins are no longer in circulation.
551 of the 793 coins established in 2014 were abandoned. No other year has seen so many currencies lose as much trade interest.
Since so many cryptocurrencies end up dying, it is tempting for those who don't understand Bitcoin to announce its imminent death. Imagine the glory that awaits you if you were right!
And then, if you were wrong, you would join the long list of those who have been wrong 469 times since 2010. Everyone would forget your name because it has become common to announce the death of Bitcoin.
It's even easy to make such a prediction. What is harder and requires real effort is to study Bitcoin for at least 100 hours to understand why Bitcoin is unique and why Bitcoin is our chance for a fairer system for the many in the future.
Since we live in a world of instant gratification, some people don't bother with that. They only want the glory, but without the essential efforts that allow great success.
A bit like those who buy Bitcoin and lose patience after a few months.
No pain, no gain in life. Bitcoin will change your life for the better if you put in the effort. Understand why Bitcoin is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and especially understand why you need to take possession of your Bitcoin's private keys. If you don't, you are still at the mercy of those who control and censor in the current system.
Once your Bitcoin is in cold storage, you are truly free with that wealth. No one can stop you from using it as you wish. Nor can anyone take it away from you.
That's why Bitcoin remains the leading digital currency, and indeed the only one worth having over time. Of course, some people will argue that they have made money with Sh*tcoins in the past.
I am sure that these people have made money with Sh*tcoins. I once won some money at the casino by betting on the color red in roulette. However, I don't see roulette as a way to protect the fruits of my labor effectively.
It is a game. No more and no less. A game with real winning potential, but a game where the outcome depends on chance. With Sh*tcoins, it's the same thing. You buy a Sh*tcoin and hope that Elon Musk will tweet about it, making a pump & dump that will allow you to make a little profit.
But in the long run, you will lose a lot of money in this game. That's why in the end all these crypto projects disappear. They don't solve any real problems. They are only there to enrich their founders. Founders who all end up falling for scams or leaving with the cash. I'm hardly exaggerating with that last statement.
With Bitcoin, you don't have that risk. Bitcoin solves many problems while giving everyone the same opportunities. The trick is to understand it for yourself to benefit from it.
That's why in 10 years you'll see the same study that tells you that Bitcoin is still the king of digital currency and that at least 90% of the Sh*tcoins of 2023 are gone. Trends and fads pass, not a revolution like Bitcoin.
Just as the Internet wasn't just a passing fad (special dedication to Bill Gates), Bitcoin is here to stay. Bitcoin is not perfect. But neither was the Internet, and it still isn't. Yet instead of reinventing the wheel, thousands of developers have worked and continue to work to improve the protocols underlying the Internet.
With Bitcoin, the same thing will happen. Bitcoin will not be replaced, it will simply evolve to meet the evolving needs of its users.
Some reading
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