When it comes to investing in cryptocurrency, mummy knows best, according to Michael Saylor.
The bitcoin evangelist and billionaire CEO of MicroStrategy (MSTR) has maintained his devotion to the world's most popular cryptocurrency, even as the sector continues to sustain heavy losses.
Talk Like An Egyptian
No matter. Saylor took to Twitter to defend bitcoin and he reached all way back to ancient Egypt to make his point.
Saylor posted a clip of a news report about Nesyamun, a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy, who was able to "speak" after scientists created a site bite from the high-ranking priest and scribe.
And what did Nesyamun have to say for himself after all this time?
"Bitcoiiiin!" according to Saylor's tweet.
Humor may provide some temporary relief for beleaguered crypto investors, but not even Steve Martin's rendition of King Tut could take the scorpion sting out of bitcoin's slide to a low of $17,592 over the weekend.
This was the first time since December 2020 that bitcoin fell below the symbolic level of $20,000.
'As Dead as Bitcoin'
Of course, this wouldn't be Twitter without some return snark.
"As dead as bitcoin," one commenter tweeted.
Another posted a doctored image from the Scooby-Doo cartoon with Saylor preparing to rip the hood of a trussed-up villain and declaring "Let's see who is responsible for my losses."
And underneath the hood we have...Saylor himself.
There were plenty of Saylor supporters, including one person who posted the gif of a gorilla giving the thumbs up sign.
Nevertheless, Saylor and his company are on the hook as they are among the biggest losers in Bitcoin's tumble.
"Now, many eyes are on MicroStrategy, which holds billions of dollars in BTC on its balance sheet," said Frank Corva, senior analyst, crypto and blockchain at Finder. "$17,000 is a critical level for MicroStrategy, because this is the level at which MicroStrategy will face a margin call for some of its bitcoin."
'Dead Money'
Corva noted that Saylor has claimed the loan MicroStrategy took out to buy the bitcoin in question is adequately collateralized.
Economist Peter Schiff, a certified crypto hater, had a morbid theme to his June 19 bitcoin tweet, saying that "in Dec. of 2017 #Bitcoin hit a high of just below $20K."
"Bitcoin has been dead 'money' for the past 4 1/2 years, as its current price is about 2% lower than it was then," he said. "In contrast, the price of #gold has risen by over 40% during the identical time period."
As far bitcoin's recent rise, Schiff tweeted "don't get excited about #Bitcoin being back above $20K. 20 is the new 30."
'Another Bull Trap'
"This is just another bull trap," he said. "Nothing drops in a straight line. In fact, this slow motion crash has been extremely orderly. No sign yet of any capitulation that typically forms a bear market bottom."
This prompted one Tweeter to post a doctored headline from a Simpson's cartoon featuring a likeness of Schiff with the headline "Old Man Yells at Bitcoin."
"Maybe I'm a hypocrite," one person observed. "As a newish #bitcoiner I used to be appalled by the posts and toxicity of #bitcoin twitter. But since the crash? I get it. Blessings to you hardass badasses! This middle-age left-leaning nice girl thanks you #HODL"
And where would be we be without the infamous "Woman yelling at a cat" meme? This time a commenter used the oft-posted image to illustrate bitcoin's plummeting price..
The woman in this variation on a meme is shouting "you said by crypto!"
"No," the frosty feline responds. "I said bye crypto."
'Cleansing Process of Note'
Earlier this month, New Jersey-based crypto lender Celsius stunned the crypto industry when it froze crypto withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions."
Celsius said on June 19 that it would continue to work toward “stabilizing our liquidity and operations,” a process that would require it to find a resolution by pursuing an “open dialogue with regulators.”
"With massive inflation data and the semi-collapse of the Celsius network driving the downward spiral, I think only the best fundamentally strong crypto projects will survive this bear market," said Louis Schoeman, managing director at broker comparison site Forex Suggest.
Schoeman added that "this is a cleansing process of note as we believe between 80% - 90% of the crypto projects will not survive this period especially if Bitcoin falls below $20,000,"
"But, it also serves as a massive opportunity for many no-coiners to enter the crypto market for the first time ever at prices not seen since 2017," he added.
