By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
The naysayers may, indeed, be proven right eventually, but, at this point, those calling for bitcoin’s demise — and there have been many — are being lampooned for getting caught wrong-footed on one of the most stunning rallies we’ve ever seen.
Guys like this are loving every minute of it:
Yes, with bitcoin /zigman2/quotes/31322028/realtime BTCUSD +0.70% bearing down on the $10,000 mark and the cryptocurrency community relishing each and every uptick, let’s take a look back at what some of the haters had to say throughout the year:
‘So if you are “holding” any bitcoins (not that anyone can actually hold something so ethereal), your moment to exit and flee is rapidly approaching.’
The McLellan Market Report’s Tom McLellan
Date:
Jan. 26
Bitcoin since:
+958%
‘Cryptocurrencies do not belong in any investment portfolio. I say this as a CFA® charterholder with 20 years experience who understands the underlying math and the economic issues involved.’
TD Bank analyst Jonathan Harris
Date:
May 30
Bitcoin since:
+315%
‘We now have enough information on cryptocurrencies to conclude that Bitcoin = Betamax, and Ethereum = VHS. One wins, but both soon obsolete.’
Author Jim Rickards
Date:
June 20
Bitcoin since:
+268%
‘People are comparing bitcoin to tulip bulbs. I think those comparisons are apt. But at least with tulips, you had something tangible — a plant.’
Former Lehman trader Jared Dillian
Date:
July 24
Bitcoin since:
+249%
‘You are engaged in a massive global act of speculation that will inevitably crash and burn and leave people like you gnashing your teeth and rending your garments and searching your soul about why you went out and spent all your real money on fake “coins” that don’t “exist” except in everyone’s “imagination.” ’
Splinter News writer Hamilton Nolan
Date:
Aug. 10
Bitcoin since:
+185%
‘Unless you are a professional trader, or you simply want to gamble, stay away from Bitcoins. They have no inherent value, because they are a currency which represents value rather than having value themselves. Right now the market looks a lot more like tulip mania than careful investing.’
Forbes columnist Adam Hartung
Date:
Aug. 15
Bitcoin since:
+122%
‘What kept me out of it is understanding that it’s not going to work — that bitcoin or any of these cryptocurrencies are never going to be money. They’re never going to achieve what everybody believes is going to happen. All that’s happening now is people are speculating on something that isn’t going to happen.’
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