The crash of crypto, and more specifically Bitcoin, has given voice to critics of digital currencies.
Besides the main argument that cryptocurrencies are a scam, detractors and skeptics are going after coin and token evangelists.
Most often their attacks, numerous on social media, target the past statements of proponents of cryptocurrencies and more specifically of Bitcoin. So they challenged them with a simple question: What now?
This question is based on the fact that the cryptocurrency market has seen nearly $2.7 trillion wiped out since hitting an all-time high of just over $3 trillion last November, according to data firm CoinGecko.
Bitcoin Is Down More Than 70% Since November
Bitcoin, the king of cryptocurrencies, has lost more than 70% of its value since November 10, the date of its all-time high of $69,077.44. The most popular cryptocurrency is currently trading at around $20,657.77.
Ether, the second-largest digital currency by market cap, is down 77.6% from Nov. 10 when prices hit $4,878.26. Ether is currently at $1,094.06.
After having kept silent about the crash, the evangelists are now reacting. Sometimes with humor, sometimes as a reminder that the industry has already gone through tough times and made it through.
The biggest influencer in the crypto industry is arguably Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA), whose tweet about a cryptocurrency can impact its price. When Tesla announced on February 8, 2021 to invest $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, the digital currency surged. This was the biggest mark of trust from an established company that Bitcoin had just received.
Musk also changed the fate of Dogecoin, the meme coin that was created as a joke. Dogecoin owes much of its current value to the backing of the world's richest man, industry sources say.
Tesla and SpaceX --the rocket company founded by Musk-- accept Dogecoin as payment for their merchandise.
For several days, the serial entrepreneur has not commented on the crypto crash despite requests from his fans. But he has just come out of his reserve.
On June 15, Billy Markus, the co-creator of Dogecoin posted the following message on Twitter accompanied by a cartoon popular on social media.
"🎵 it’s the end of the world as we know it 🎵
🎵 and i feel fine 🎵," Markus wrote.
"True," Musk commented.
It was the only word he had.
The billionaire did not respond to comments from his fans, who wanted to know more.
'Play the Long Game'
The value of Tesla's 43,200 Bitcoins is $903.493 million, compared to $1.5 billion initially invested. Electric vehicle maker lost nearly $600 million.
As for Cameron Winklevoss, he and his brother Tyler are on tour with their rock band Mars Junction. Until now, the two brothers have refrained from commenting on the ups and downs of the crypto market, but Cameron broke that silence by explaining that:
"2022 bitcoin lows are 2017 bitcoin highs," the billionaire said on June 15. He then advised investors to "Play the long game."
For the record, 2017 has become the latest argument for Bitcoin maximalists, in other words proponents who are convinced that Bitcoin is the future of money.
Crypto industry veterans remember that in 2017 considered the golden period of crypto before 2021, Bitcoin had reached a high of $19,511 at the end of the year. This record was the conclusion of a bull cycle never seen before. Bitcoin is currently at $20,657.77, well above the record set in 2017.
Billionaire Michael Saylor, one of Bitcoin's most vocal evangelists, continued to distill his short tweets despite his software company MicroStrategy (MSTR) seeing its investment in the king of cryptocurrencies melt away. His latest tweet responds to detractors:
"#Bitcoin is the antidote to chaos," Saylor wrote on June 16.
Basically, the crash does not change his belief in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy holds 129,218 Bitcoins in its balance sheet purchased in total for $3.965 billion. This investment is only worth $2.654 billion at the time of writing, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Basically, the loss in value is $1.3 billion.
