It’s taken several weeks, but the UK mainstream media has finally woken up to the fact that Bitcoin isn’t dead. Both the Financial Times and the Telegraph seemed to react with shock this week to the fact that Bitcoin has done what it always does, and that the death sentence they had applied following the 2018 bear market was in fact just a typical Bitcoin cycle.
Article in @dailytelegraph… pic.twitter.com/HIDCMfBAYq
— Mati Greenspan (@MatiGreenspan) May 29, 2019
Bitcoin’s “Unexpected” Recovery
The Daily Telegraph couldn’t resist the tired tulip comparison, but it at least admitted that those who predicted its demise have been made to eat their words, stating that “…quietly, and unexpectedly, the digital currency has made a swift recovery.” Bitcoin’s recovery is only unexpected by those whose knowledge of the currency starts and ends with newspaper headlines, as anyone who bothers to study it in any way will see that this is what Bitcoin has done continuously throughout its history and simply highlights the lack of research and bias in the mainstream media.
Increased Adoption
The Telegraph also reports that Bitcoin’s use case is growing after “a handful of big retailers, including Whole Foods and US telecoms group AT&T, have said that they are prepared to accept Bitcoin.” Of course this is the first that Telegraph readers would have heard of this, and naturally there is no mention of the Bakkt deal that could see Starbucks accepting Bitcoin, or the Coinbase card that allows anyone to spend Bitcoin where Visa is accepted. This is left out, and in its place is a criticism that “there is little to suggest Bitcoin has any particular intrinsic value”. Sigh.
“Surprise Revival”
The Financial Times is equally shocked by the fact that history has repeated itself, stating that Bitcoin has undergone a “surprise revival” that, again, was obvious to anyone who knows anything about it. They cite Manuel Ernesto De Luque Muntaner, founder and CEO of Luxembourg-based Block Asset Management, who reveals that “demand from institutional buyers and venture capital fund” has helped fuel the recovery. The FT also puts a geopolitical slant on things, pointing to “yet more loose monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank” as a potential reason behind 2019’s 140% rise.
The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
The FT also notes the increased institutional adoption, stating that “there are signs of growing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies among institutional investors and big corporations.” This has been evident since early 2018 but mainstream media were too busy mocking the crypto bubble to notice. With names such as Facebook, Fidelity, and JPMorgan in the mix now, it will be interesting to see if crypto is taken any more seriously next time round. The chances of this however are much like the mainstream media’s knowledge of Bitcoin – slim.
