Half-baked apology to the Bitcoin community after 14 years of criticism – CryptoNinjas

This post explores the Bitcoin community’s mixed reactions in response to the Financial Times’ so-called “half-baked” comments. apologies after 14 years of incessant criticism of cryptocurrencies (Financial Times: arguably the most respected financial newspaper in the world).

In a shocking reversal, the FT – via its Alphaville section – admitted that it may have influenced its readers’ investment decisions, but did not change its previous position. The article examines the positive and negative aspects of this issue while providing an overall overview of the complex relationship between mainstream media and the cryptocurrency market.

The apology immediately made waves on social networks, notably on the site X.

A sincere apology or empty words?

The FT’s apology, to many onlookers, looked like a rather lame affair and was more like lip service than a true mea culpa. Alphaville Editor-in-Chief Bryce Elder said: “We’re sorry if you misunderstood our crypto cynicism as a statement of support for trade, because we hate that too.“

Apologies from the Financial Times. Source: Financial Times

This essentially reflected the FT’s indifference: they acknowledged that Bitcoin had risen significantly, but without reversing previous negative comments about Bitcoin.

In fact, Elder insisted that FT “still supports every single one of these posts” criticizing Bitcoin over the past 14 years.

The history of Bitcoin criticism by FT

Since June 2011, when Bitcoin was trading at just $15.90, Alphaville has called Bitcoin a zero-sum game, chronically ineffective as a medium of exchange, and damaged as a store of value. They felt its price was simply an “arbitrary hype measure” unrelated to any public service.

In 2014, an expert from the Financial Times went so far as to call Satoshi Nakamoto, the originator of Bitcoin, a “reckless doctor”, comparing the issuance of Bitcoin to a doctor prescribing penicillin to every patient without checking whether he suffered from an infection, depression or psychosis. Mark Williams, the author of the comment, believed that Satoshi botched the design of Bitcoin’s supply schedule, in which he “did not account for the ups and downs” of economic cycles.

More news: Bitcoin hits $100,000 – sets all-time high

The reaction of the Bitcoin community

The “half-baked” apology did not go down well with the Bitcoin community. Many comments on X called it a “false apology” or “copology.” Critics said the FT was not humble despite its grave error in assessing Bitcoin’s potential.

This is further underlined by Bitcoin’s price well above $100,000, highlighting some of the inaccuracies in FT’s analysis over the years. Some even remember the failed predictions of financial giants like Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and Peter Schiff, all of whom downplayed Bitcoin’s potential.

Lessons learned

This incident highlighted the challenges of predicting cryptocurrency market trends and the need to receive information objectively and rigorously. The insincerity of the FT’s apology served as a reminder to mainstream media to be much more vigilant in their statements against a volatile and emerging market called cryptocurrency. He also highlighted the resilience of the community around Bitcoin, but even more, the ability of this market to navigate despite violent winds, even in the face of criticism described as financial “giants”.

However, this reflects a rather complex reality: a gap which remains indeed significant between simple academic level knowledge and the lack of practical knowledge. As would be expected from a leading media outlet, it appears the FT has broken its usual analytical frameworks applied to a brand new technology. In their apology, they didn’t really apologize for their limited imagination regarding understanding and criticizing Bitcoin. It will be interesting to see if the FT will change its perspective in this regard and approach Bitcoin with more open eyes.