“Like the gold standard, a successful bitcoin would send our economy back into the dark ages. . . . Even if it became popular, governments would squash it because of #1 and because they like being in power. . . . With bitcoin, a single failure of the cryptosystem could result in an utter collapse of the entire financial network.”
Avery Pennarun, Google Fiber Engineer · Bitcoin since: +2,006,419%
A little perspective.
Bitcoin on that day$3.87May 8, 2011
$100 at that price$2,006,519At our latest price check
Illustrative value using a Bitcoin price of $77,652, checked Oct 31, 2026, 5:28 PM UTC. Excludes fees, taxes, and inflation. A price change alone does not settle the original criticism.
Keep the receipt.
Bitcoin Is Dead. “Why Bitcoin Will Fail” — Avery Pennarun, Apenwarr, May 8, 2011. Bitcoin: $3.87. https://bitcoindeaths.com/posts/2011-05-08-why-bitcoin-will-fail