In the event you’ve ever purchased a token solely to seek out out its grand use case was “having a token,” congrats, you performed the sport excellent. Wolf of All Streets’ Scott Melker sums it up greatest. After years wandering crypto’s high-stakes tables, he’s upgraded his stance from “99.9% of crypto is a on line casino” to “99.999999%. As for the remainder of the business? Nicely, it’s doubling down on his evaluation, one Twitter thread at a time.
Crypto is a on line casino with bull cycles and bear-ly plausible drama
The final temper in crypto circles is that this has been the worst bull cycle ever. This market is about as cheerful as a rain-soaked slot machine. Retail? Gone. OGs? Ejecting cash like a busted pinball.
Simply take a look at the Trump coin saga, the place retail bagholders purchased into the hype earlier than newly minted “patriots” had been left clutching tokens at a 90% low cost. Or the “Banana Cat” memecoin, which mooned for 2 days earlier than dumping so onerous holders had been left with whiplash.
And it’s not simply retail; insiders can get burned too, like Justin Solar’s spectacular miss with World Liberty Monetary freezing 595 million cash. Even well-connected whales can find yourself face down on the blackjack desk. In fact retail is leaving in droves.
For these merchants left nonetheless glued to their screens ready for the following “God candle,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas needs you to know it’s “really an actual psychological well being downside.” Certain, crypto is a on line casino, however Bitcoiners have seen their portfolios swing 300% within the final two years, they usually nonetheless really feel robbed anyway.
Damaged guarantees, pump and dumps, and the Bitcoin endgame
So the place do these winding market roads lead? After sifting by means of the guarantees and the most recent “quicker, cheaper, higher” blockchain taste, the exhausted crowd ultimately stumbles again to Bitcoin. It’s the one digital roulette wheel that also spins when the whole lot else goes bust. As ex Blockstream VP Fernando Nikolić cheekily observes:
“Bitcoin Twitter is 50,000 individuals speaking to one another whereas considering they’re speaking to the world.”
In the meantime, normies deal with Bitcoin like a inventory, maxis bicker over covenants, merchants pray for candles, and the neighbor is fairly certain it trades on Saturdays.
Adoption? Not practically as simple as anybody hoped. However Nikolić nails one common fact. NGU (Quantity go Up) is the one factor everybody understands. Worth speaks to billions; tech and philosophy… dozens and a whole lot, at greatest.
The Scott Bessent impact: Bitcoin goes mainstream
And simply once you suppose the sport is over, alongside comes Scott Bessent. The U.S. Treasury Secretary publicly embraces Bitcoin for its 100% uptime (in contrast to the U.S. authorities), propelling Washington’s temper from combative to admiration.
All roads could also be paved with misplaced retail cash and meme casualties, however they nonetheless finish at Bitcoin’s door, full with regulatory love and institutional buy-in.
So whereas 99.999999% of crypto is a on line casino in a flashing Vegas pit, Bitcoin is leaving the nonsense behind to crash the Washington ball. The actual jackpot? Whenever you lastly notice the one token you wanted was sitting below your nostril the entire time, buzzing away block by block, at a cocktail party the place Scott Melker quietly mutters: “Advised you so.”
