😱 Oh No, The New York Times Doesn’t Like Bitcoin
The New York Times' controversial take on Bitcoin mining, Reddit's CEO believes the world only needs one cryptocurrency, and bitcoin's price surges above $30,000.
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Hey everyone,
Bitcoin is killing the planet. Again. Well, sort of. At least according to the New York Times. We also look at why Reddit’s CEO thinks Bitcoin is unique, and of course, we celebrate the return of bitcoin's price above $30,000, bringing a smile to Michael Saylor's face.
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By the way: This weekly newsletter is also available in German; you can sign up here.
Quote of the Week:
“I think the world probably only needs one cryptocurrency—and that’s Bitcoin.”
- Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman
😱 The New York Times Doesn’t Like Bitcoin, But That’s Okay
Who is the most vocal Bitcoin hater? Is it Warren Buffett? Or Nouriel Roubini? It turns out it’s not a single person, but a media giant with 4,700 employees. On Sunday, April 9, the New York Times (NYT) published ‘The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin’. It’s not the first time that the NYT dramatizes the impact of Bitcoin mining on climate change, but this time, it’s going one step further: According to the three journalists who worked on the article, Bitcoin mining is just a net negative. Among allegedly lying about using renewable energy, one of the most severe accusations is that Bitcoin mining companies raise the price of energy in total and that the industry exploits public programs for profit. The NYT sees it as a problem that Bitcoin mining companies are good at doing what Texas incentivizes: Buying energy that no one else wants while being able to turn off their machines at peak load times (‘demand response’). Many commentators within the Bitcoin community were outraged at how the NYT once again managed to frame Bitcoin negatively, accusing their editorial team of manipulating pictures, willingly ignoring certain experts, and apparently pushing an Anti-Bitcoin agenda.
My take: As someone who used to work in journalism, I appreciate the effort that went into the NYT’s piece. But it looks like the reporters were pushed to give their story the most negative spin possible. Margot Paez wrote an excellent response, highlighting some misconceptions about Bitcoin mining in the US.
🧡 Reddit CEO: We Only Need Bitcoin As A Cryptocurrency
German magazine BTC-ECHO recently met Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman for an interview. They talked about how Reddit grew from a small startup founded by two students into one of the largest social media platforms in the world, with 300 million monthly users and 700 employees. While the whole interview is worth a read (given you understand German), the most exciting part was when Huffman talked about cryptocurrencies. Asked by BTC-ECHO about Reddit’s plans to add cryptocurrency support to their platform, Hufmann responded that they are for now focussing on NFTs, while steering clear of cryptocurrencies as they are, in his view, securities. However, he makes one exception: “I think the world probably only needs one cryptocurrency—and that’s Bitcoin. It’s useful as a store of value. Ethereum is unbelievable as an application-platform, but it’s not a currency. The other use cases seem questionable to me.”
My take: There is nothing to add to Steve Hufmann’s statement. Reddit’s current focus on NFTs is questionable, but we’re convinced that they’ll eventually add Bitcoin functionalities in some capacity.
📈 Bitcoin Price Back Above 30K, Michael Saylor In The Green
I’m sure you’re aware, but the bulls are back in town as the bitcoin price hit $30,000 for the first time since June 2022. In a 30-day period, bitcoin saw a whopping 46 percent in gains after already becoming the best-performing asset of Q1 2023 prior to that. In the meantime, Bitcoin ultra-bull Michael Saylor is back in the spotlight, as his company MicroStrategy now holds 140,000 BTC (!) at an average price of $29,803 per coin. A bitcoin price of more than 30k is good news for Saylor and his company’s big bet on Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention. MicroStrategy has been steadily buying BTC since August 2020. It’s unknown how much BTC El Salvador, the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, has. In July 2022, the official number was 2,381 BTC, bought at an average price of $43,357. So there is still some way to go until the ‘world’s coolest dictator’ as president Nayib Bukele likes to call himself can celebrate like Michael Saylor.
My take: No one knows where the price of bitcoin is headed next. If you are an investor like Michael Saylor seems to be, you should focus on the long-term trajectory anyway and don’t bother with some short-term volatility.
Short news:
Highlights from Relai:
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Your Relai Team
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