"If currencies are fundamentally tribal, how can Bitcoin possibly become the “new gold standard”, as maximalists dream? Humans don’t take kindly to attempts by other tribes to eliminate their tribal symbols and impose those of another tribe. They have to be persuaded, not coerced. Currently, Bitcoin maximalists can’t even persuade other Bitcoiners to support their coin. The idea that they could persuade all the people of the world to throw away their tribal currencies and adopt their version of Bitcoin is laughable. When’s the next fork, by the way?"

"In my opinion, bitcoin is dead. It won’t go quietly, but the recent precipitous drop may be the beginning of its inevitable and inexorable death spiral. Or there could be a dead cat bounce. Either way, I see bitcoin as a dead man walking. Future generations may read about bitcoin in a finance textbook as a curiosity and wonder what all the fuss was about. There are still some die-hard adherents espousing the virtues of bitcoin, desperate to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Unfortunately for them, the end may not be pretty when it comes."

"The only difference between Bitcoin No. ABC123 and $1 Bill No. L88793293J is that at the end of the day, the $1 bill physically exists and has a face value that is worth something. Fred could take the $1 bill and buy something off the $1 menu at McDonalds….By contrast, Bitcoin has no intrinsic value — it is just a number. The number may have an agreed value between two parties, but the number itself has no value."

"Bitcoin’s buzz is gone, for now. It was crushed by the heavy-handed intervention of the Chinese government, which is cooling off investor enthusiasm for the digital currency…."

"This is why almost none of us should own Bitcoins. Bitcoin value has multiple weaknesses. Someone could hack the blockchain, create more Bitcoins and manipulate the value or sell the illegitimate Bitcoins and abscond with the buyers’ dollars. Or groups of users can place large buys and sells of Bitcoins, manipulating their value, because there are no controls. Or Bitcoin users could simply start using other crypto-currencies or traditional government-issued currencies and the market could fold completely, making Bitcoins worthless, as has happened to other crypto-currencies. Any one, or all, of these things could happen at any moment."

"I used to be an avid trader years ago, and my co-founder is as hardcore of a crypto-anarchist as they come. I would love nothing more than for bitcoin to succeed, but I believe it will die a slow and painful death and something else will come along to be its successor."

"The reasons for Bitcoin’s failure are many, including poor governance, a lack of technological infrastructure and infighting within its community. Besides, as I noted in my previous article, the fact that sovereign governments have the power to tax in their own currencies always made a Bitcoin takeover unlikely."

"At this point, it’s merely a speculative commodity, just like tulip bulbs centuries ago or even Beanie Babies more recently. . . . Bitcoin has peaked and is very unlikely to escalate significantly in value again. . . . It’s basically an elaborate Ponzi scheme. . . . While I don’t relish anyone losing money, Bitcoin basically went out of the way to make itself vulnerable. For this reason, it is destined to fail."

"Bitcoins aren’t secure, as both the recent theft and this password problem show. They’re not liquid, nor a store of value, as the price collapse shows and if they’re none of those things then they’ll not be a great medium of exchange either as who would want to accept them? . . . It’s difficult to see what the currency has going for it."

Forbes Coverage Style

• Business and investment focused
• Entrepreneur perspectives
• Market analysis approach
• Technology adoption insights

Why Forbes Coverage Differs

• Targets business professionals
• Focuses on wealth creation
• Covers institutional adoption
• Emphasizes investment opportunities