Debate
08:00
Elites are now too invested to act against crypto
by Greg Barker
M lovin’ it.
The McDonald’s Bitcoin meme — where newly impoverished crypto investors depict themselves sporting the fast-food behemoth’s iconic logo — perfectly captured the sentiment of crypto enthusiasts this week. During what looks to be the latter part of the latest crypto crash, the McDonald’s logo manifested itself on Bitcoin’s long-term chart (above).
The recent rout — in which the Bitcoin price fell to as low as $34,000 — arrived two months after the cryptocurrency reached its highest level of adoption. Similar to investors of other dubious assets (like the now-disgraced fund manager Cathie Wood’s so-called Innovation ETF), new Bitcoin “HODLers” have lost almost 40% of their holdings in just a few months. As for altcoin investors, they have endured even greater losses.
Once again, we’re at that familiar moment where it looks like it’s all over for Bitcoin bulls, and then usually see prices not only bounce back but reach all-time highs. Will this time be different? Well, that depends on the regulators. If the damage to retail investors’ purses is too much for the authorities to ignore, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might be in serious trouble. But this means that authorities face the ultimate regulatory dilemma: how do you take down a global market…
