Bitcoin Is Dead, Long Live BItcoin
Shortly following the announcement of President-elect Trump’s pick of Paul Atkins for the SEC Chair on Wednesday December 4, 2024, the price of bitcoin smashed the $100,000 barrier to new all time highs (ATHs).
Commenting on the appointment in his announcement on social media platform Truth, president-elect Trump said, “Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.”
Commenting on bitcoin breaking the barrier, crypto pundit Stasher said, “I think this is just the beginning. You know it’s something huge when the Fed Chair refers to bitcoin as virtual gold. All eyes are on crypto now, thanks to Donald Trump and there’s no telling where we go from here. No prediction is too off the charts. I would even believe someone who says $500,000 is coming for bitcoin.
“Why? Because all hurdles are being gradually removed. Financial institutions are keen to invest, the new U.S. government is open to the idea of crypto and governments across the world are building their strategic reserves for bitcoin. Never before did we see a bull run backed by so many positive factors.”
“In the sea of SEC Chair candidates, Paul stands out as a mature, accomplished and respected nominee for the position. I trust that his confirmation will go through with no issues,” said Jennifer Lassiter, former CFPB director, Digital Dollar Project board member, and advisory board member of the Global Digital Finance (GDF), the global association for digital assets advocacy.
“Paul Atkins is perfect choice by President Trump for the SEC chair. He’s honest, smart and knows how to move the agency forward. He will attract talent and embrace technological innovation, crypto, and digital finance. He’ll end regulation by enforcement and return the SEC to the proper role of fostering capital formation and American economic growth. Bravo!” commented former CFTC commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo in his LinkedIn post.
Giancarlo, authored CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money, chairs the Digital Dollar Project and is rumoured to be in the running for the U.S. Crypto Czar role. Giancarlo is alleged to have turned down the SEC Chair role and is the industry’s preferred candidate for the role of Crypto Czar given his track record with crypto derivatives while at the CFTC, his commitment to digital assets advocacy, and his convening powers, in this case coordinating a cross-agency mandate.
Ryan Chow, ceo of SOLV Protocol – Solv.Finance, said, “Bitcoin breaking the $100K barrier is not just a milestone—it’s a moment of validation for the ecosystem’s growth and potential. This achievement, alongside Atkins’ SEC appointment, signals an era of institutional trust and regulatory clarity that will unlock new opportunities for innovation. Institutions and traditional finance are now fully embracing the concept of holding Bitcoin reserves on their balance sheets as a modern alternative to gold.”
Bitcoin is Dead
RedBull’s “A guide to Bitcoin critics and sceptics” is an interesting read and lists a who’s who of “establishment politicians and capitalists” from Nouriel Roubini, the outspoken economist also known as Dr. Doom who said, “Bitcoin is neither fair nor equitable,” to Janet Yellen, Secretary to the Treasury who said, “Investors in bitcoin lose their money.”
Roubini added to this yesterday saying that he “doesn’t think bitcoin will ever become a currency” at the same time Fed Governor Jerome Powell was acknowledging “bitcoin is like digital gold” but does not compete with the dollar. Market pundits point to this last statement as driving bitcoin to higher highs.
Central bankers as far back as 2018 had their trust in fiat being deployed as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) at some future date, and just did not see what job bitcoin did outside of a speculation instrument, but many were not anti-bitcoin. Enlighted fixed income and debt traders look at bitcoin as the best asymmetric trade they have ever had, doing the job of portfolio insurance.
The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs. The report posits that “there have been limited economic benefits from DLT technology.” Operation chokepoint, an informal term used by critics to describe U.S. government regulators’ targeting the cryptocurrency industry and sent a chill down the spine of the industry.
a16z’s Marc Andreessen’s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast casts a dark shadow over government, democracy, crypto, and tech, for anyone who has the time and interest, it is worth a listen.
“Crossing $100K shows Bitcoin’s resilience after many years of endless downturns, and underlies the growing reputation of decentralized technology, from retail investors to institutional players. A powerful number that serves as a stamp of approval, forged by pioneers and displayed to the skeptics. 2024 has seen considerable amounts of acceptance that hopefully perpetuates throughout 2025 as the industry keeps growing,” says Maxime Baron, ceo of Hash Consulting.
Long Live Bitcoin
Following the U.S. election result, we are in a different world, it’s all change for the crypto and digital assets industry. Who would of thought just a couple of months ago crypto would have its Berlin Wall moment with the U.S. on course to making history. From President-elect Donald Trump promising to safeguard the national bitcoin stockpile to Cynthia Lummis pushing the BITCOIN Act, and Pennsylvania introducing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act the U.S. looks set to become the first developed economy to have a strategic bitcoin reserve.
Of course, the bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and crypto options have helped crypto gain momentum in 2024, especially with institutional investors, and further send the signals for driving mass adoption.
Rich Rines, initial contributor at Core, said “Bitcoin surpassing $100K is just the beginning. This is simply recognition of the fact that bitcoin is here to stay gaining widespread support from investors, institutions, and policymakers alike. As we move into 2025, bitcoin will progress from recognition to innovation as it evolves from a simple store of value asset to a far more wide-ranging and sophisticated financial instrument. Products like yield-bearing bitcoin ETPs and bitcoin staking are at the forefront of this shift, unlocking new use-cases and opportunities for the bitcoin asset.”
The HODLERS are now being rewarded for their HODLING, and if there was a single face, a poster child for HODLERS everywhere, it is Michael Saylor, ceo of MicroStrategy, who’s bitcoin investment strategy is so legendary, he is preparing for a presentation to the MicroSoft Board next month to school the club Mag 7 company on his bitcoin investment strategy.
Ghandi is falsely attributed as having said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win” in the fight for independence from British rule.
Kit Miller, director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in Rochester, N.Y., told The Associated Press in an email that while the quote is frequently attributed to Gandhi, “he was not the original person who uttered that remark.”
Nicholas Klein, a trade union activist, said something similar in a 1918 speech, saying, “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you,” according to a transcript from the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America convention.
A sanguine lesson from history more than 100 years on and one to dedicate to all of the early and long term supporters and HODLERS of bitcoin. Bitcoin is a story of how revolutions are won. Let us now move on to the evolution of the digital financial ecosystem and transform it for the benefit of all citizens and businesses.