A new study has found that Bitcoin has been declared as being ‘dead’ more than 200 times in the past five years.
To put it into perspective, the study, by BitStacker, reveals that there have been a whopping 219 reported ‘deaths’ of Bitcoin since 2018. So far, 2022 has experienced 24 Bitcoin ‘deaths,’ a fall compared to the previous year.
Despite the premature declaration of Bitcoin’s death, the crypto appears to be very much alive.
To qualify as being a Bitcoin ‘death,’ there must have been a report stating that the crypto is or will be worthless, and this report should come from a public figure or a website with substantial traffic.
Such trends are not just a recent phenomenon.
There have been 464 obituaries for Bitcoin since the original cryptocurrency was launched in 2009, including one reporting of the crypto’s death in 2010.
Rumors of Bitcoin’s Demise are Greatly Exaggerated
Bitcoin has experienced a turbulent year this 2022. The findings hint at the fact that the crypto’s inherent volatility may be becoming less newsworthy. The cryptocurrency is still in the midst of a ‘crypto winter’ that has seen its value plummet from $64,000 in November 2021 to just $19,000 in June 2022.
While these figures may be very telling of the crypto’s eminent demise, such negativity has not been matched by an increase in the reports of Bitcoin’s ‘death.’ In fact, there has so far been a 49% decrease in Bitcoin obituaries compared to 2021.
Bitcoin experienced the greatest number of reports of its passing in 2017. This came at a time when the cryptocurrency suffered one of its greatest crashes, losing 45% of its value overnight. As a result, there was a 343% increase in the reports of Bitcoin’s death in 2017.
Kris Lucas, BitStacker.com analyst said:
“It is fascinating to see how resilient Bitcoin really is. Operated by no one, truly decentralised and free financial tool is being buried times and times again by influential outlets and famous people, yet – it’s ‘alive’.’
Language Used to Report a Bitcoin Death
The media and prominent personalities have been very instrumental in reporting the death of Bitcoin. The language they use to describe the passing of Bitcoin provides many insights into how people perceive the cryptocurrency.
Many articles have attributed Bitcoin to a Ponzi scheme, a common type of fraud where unsuspecting individuals are lured into investing in a non-existent company, and profits are paid back from more recent investors.
Other articles have taken more of a poetic slant, stating that Bitcoin is ‘thin air’ or ‘traumatic memory.’ Such articles use the words ‘scam’ and ‘fraud’ tend to form the main discourse of the reports.
The most aggressive reports are those suggesting that ‘All crypto should die in a fire,’ and that ‘Crypto is like a venereal disease.’ While this ferocious language was used to report Bitcoin’s demise, it was, however, not recorded in the frequency of Bitcoin-recorded deaths.
It’s a no-brainer that the language used in reporting Bitcoin’s death has become more expressive in 2022. Yet, the cryptocurrency remains very much alive and is poised for a rebound.
Featured Image Credits: Bernard Marr
