“If Bitcoin were a currency, it’d be the worst-performing one in the world, worse even than the Russian ruble. But Bitcoin isn’t a currency. It’s a Ponzi scheme for redistributing wealth from one libertarian to another. . . . But in the long run, we’re all dead, and Bitcoin might be too.”
Matt O'Brien, Economics Reporter, The Washington Post · Bitcoin since: +42,792%
Bitcoin Revealed: A Ponzi Scheme For Redistributing Wealth From One Libertarian To Another ↗
A little perspective.
Illustrative value using a Bitcoin price of $76,039, checked Nov 6, 2026, 11:28 AM UTC. Excludes fees, taxes, and inflation. A price change alone does not settle the original criticism.
Matt O'Brien appears in 3 recorded obituaries. 29 declarations were recorded in 2015.
Keep the receipt.
Bitcoin Is Dead. “Bitcoin Revealed: A Ponzi Scheme For Redistributing Wealth From One Libertarian To Another” — Matt O'Brien, The Washington Post, January 14, 2015. Bitcoin: $177.28. https://bitcoindeaths.com/posts/2015-01-14-bitcoin-revealed-a-ponzi-scheme-for-redistributing-wealth-from-one-libertarian-to-another