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Bitcoin is dead (again)
Critics have declared bitcoin dead 477 times since 2010, by 99Bitcoins' count. Here is every obituary plotted against the price on the day it ran.
Obituaries per year
They come in waves after big price drops: 124 in 2017 and 94 in 2018 as the first big bubble popped, then 47 in 2021. The tracker logged only 8 in 2023, 2 in 2024 and none since. In August 2025 99Bitcoins added a note marking more than a year without a new “death.”
Greatest hits
A selection from the list. We opened every link below and checked the headline against the original (or an archived copy).
- Why Bitcoin can't be a currency
The Underground Economist (blog) · The first entry on the list, when a bitcoin cost about 24 cents. Archived copy.
BTC $0.24 → $81,269
×338,621 - Bitcoin Is a Ponzi Scheme: The Internet Currency Will Collapse
Slate, Eric Posner · listed by 99Bitcoins as “Fool's Gold”
BTC $82.90 → $81,269
×980 - Bitcoin Sees the Grim Reaper
New York magazine, Kevin Roose
BTC $104 → $81,269
×779 - FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Will Crash To $10 By Mid-2014
Business Insider, Mark T. Williams · The page's current headline is “The Bitcoin Meltdown Has Begun.”
BTC $879 → $81,269
×92 - An early obituary for bitcoin
Reuters Breakingviews, Edward Hadas · Archived copy.
BTC $821 → $81,269
×99 - Bitcoin Is Dead
The Weekly Standard · The magazine closed in 2018; archived copy.
BTC $670 → $81,269
×121 - The Guardian view on cryptocurrencies: a greater fool's gold
The Guardian (editorial)
BTC $16,232 → $81,269
×5.0 BTC $9,796 → $81,269
×8.3- #1921 - Peter Zeihan
The Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify) · listed by 99Bitcoins as “Bitcoin Will Go Negative”
BTC $16,943 → $81,269
×4.8 BTC $21,072 → $81,269
×3.9- ETF approval for bitcoin – the naked emperor's new clothes
European Central Bank blog, Ulrich Bindseil and Jürgen Schaaf · listed by 99Bitcoins as “Bitcoin Has Failed” · The most recent “dead” call from an official institution on the list.
BTC $51,292 → $81,269
+58%
How this is counted
- Source. Every declaration comes from 99Bitcoins' Bitcoin Obituaries, which says it tracks “every instance where Bitcoin was pronounced ‘dead’ by critics.” Its counter read “Bitcoin has died 477 times” when we checked on Oct 17, 2026. We use its count as published and don't estimate.
- What counts. 99Bitcoins doesn't publish detailed inclusion rules on the page. In practice its list includes headlines and quotes calling bitcoin doomed, a fraud, a Ponzi scheme or worthless, not only the word “dead,” from news outlets, blogs, podcasts and social posts. Treat it as a fun, curated list, not a scientific survey.
- Our copy. The page listed 478 entries; one (Aug 22, 2025) is a milestone note rather than an obituary, which leaves 477, matching its counter. Dates are as listed by 99Bitcoins.
- Prices. We price each entry with the Coin Metrics daily close for that date, so our figures can differ slightly from the prices printed on 99Bitcoins.
- Spot checks. We opened the original articles behind the 11 greatest hits above. All matched, though some outlets have since changed their headlines.
- About the source site. 99Bitcoins is a third-party site with ads, exchange and casino promotions that we don't endorse.
The network has kept producing blocks through every one of these. Check the latest block yourself on our mempool page, read the famous names on Bitcoin's greatest hot takes, or see how we label fear-driven headlines on the FUD page.
Prices: daily close in USD from the Coin Metrics Community API (terms). “Now” is the latest close, Oct 17, 2026. A higher price today doesn't prove a critic wrong about everything, and it is not a forecast.
Sources
- 99Bitcoins, Bitcoin Obituaries (checked Oct 17, 2026)
- Coin Metrics Community API, PriceUSD (daily)
- The Underground Economist (blog), “Why Bitcoin can't be a currency” (Dec 15, 2010)
- Slate, “Bitcoin Is a Ponzi Scheme: The Internet Currency Will Collapse” (Apr 11, 2013)
- New York magazine, “Bitcoin Sees the Grim Reaper” (Jun 20, 2013)
- Business Insider, “FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Will Crash To $10 By Mid-2014” (Dec 13, 2013)
- Reuters Breakingviews, “An early obituary for bitcoin” (Jan 8, 2014)
- The Weekly Standard, “Bitcoin Is Dead” (Mar 5, 2014)
- The Guardian (editorial), “The Guardian view on cryptocurrencies: a greater fool's gold” (Jan 7, 2018)
- CNBC, “Warren Buffett says bitcoin is ‘probably rat poison squared’” (May 5, 2018)
- The Joe Rogan Experience (Spotify), “#1921 - Peter Zeihan” (Jan 7, 2023)
- CNBC, “JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon: Bitcoin is a ‘hyped-up fraud’” (Jan 19, 2023)
- European Central Bank blog, “ETF approval for bitcoin – the naked emperor's new clothes” (Feb 22, 2024)