New York Times Capitulates, Says Bitcoin Is "Not A Passing Fad"

Scams surface, anticipation around SEC's Bitcoin ETF decision, mining giants' robust strategies in tumultuous times, and the New York Times offers a balanced take on Bitcoin.

Welcome to the latest edition of Bitcoin Perception.

If you want to join other readers from companies such as Swan, Galoy, Braiins, Blockstream, and others learning about how the mainstream media covers Bitcoin, subscribe below:

You can check out the archive for older media reports and follow BP on Twitter too!

---

Bitcoin price: $29,380

Date range: August 7 - August 13, 2023

Bitcoin Perception Index (BPI): 50/100 - balanced

Main coverage: Scams, ETFs, Mining Companies, Market Dynamics

This week's spotlight: New York Times

---

Weekly Snapshot

---

Main Topics Of The Week

Scams and Vulnerabilities

Several articles discuss the vulnerabilities associated with cryptocurrencies, with a special focus on Bitcoin. One prominent BBC story is about a woman who lost £40,000 in an online scam, the usual context in which BBC covers Bitcoin.

Another article highlights the vulnerability of phone numbers to SIM swap attacks, where hackers can gain access to a victim's phone and subsequently their financial accounts.

SEC and Bitcoin ETFs

Multiple articles focus on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its decisions regarding Bitcoin ETFs. There's anticipation and speculation surrounding the SEC's decision on Bitcoin ETF applications, with some experts believing that the SEC will continue to delay its decision.

Bitcoin Mining Companies

Several articles discuss the performance and strategies of Bitcoin mining companies.

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. and Riot Platforms Inc. are highlighted by Bloomberg for their positive financial performance and strategic decisions amidst challenging market conditions.

A very interesting statement was made by the Head of Research at BloombergNEF, calling Bitcoin "The ultimate source of flexible demand" on the Bloomberg podcast show “Switched On” in an episode titled "Ercot’s Extremes: Weather, Solar and Bitcoin".

Market Dynamics and Bitcoin's Price

Articles discuss the dynamics of the cryptocurrency market, especially Bitcoin's price movement in relation to various factors.

For instance, Bitcoin experienced a surge in opposition to the stock market after Moody’s placed the U.S. banking sector on watch, as covered by CNBC.

---

Spotlight: The New York Times

The article titled "Letter to a Young Crypto Enthusiast (or the Merely Curious)" from The New York Times provides insights into the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies among young adults, particularly males.

The article starts with the quotable "You were right. It's not a passing fad", which may well become a landmark quote marking the New York Times' initial acknowledgment of its historic skeptical stance on Bitcoin.

It's quite remarkable to observe this shift from an establishment like the NYT.

Ron Lieber, the “Your Money” columnist for The New York Times since 2008, having tweeted about Bitcoin as early as 2015, offers a nuanced perspective on Bitcoin.

He recognizes the increasing fascination and adoption of Bitcoin among the younger generation, but he doesn't shy away from emphasizing the inherent risks and uncertainties tied to it.

Which is understandable knowing who we're dealing with. So when the sentiment in this article towards Bitcoin is neither overtly positive nor negative, but rather cautionary - that's understandable, too.

But it really stops there. If the New York Times have historically been 100% against Bitcoin in its coverage, consider the pendulum swinging to 97% now.

It is the visible crack in the concrete that this 3% represents that is the news.

In conclusion, The New York Times offers a surprisingly comprehensive view of the landscape, emphasizing caution, research, and understanding instead of focusing on FUD, which quite frankly has been the norm.

Is this the start of a new era of positive Bitcoin perception by the New York Times? Time will tell.

But don't hold your breath.

Notable Quotes

"Even as the price of Bitcoin fell precipitously in 2022, the percentage of people in the United States owning crypto grew to 11 percent from 3 percent in just a year. It’s at 12 percent this year, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, and Bitcoin’s price has risen more than 75 percent from its 2022 low."

"The biggest attraction of crypto is often the possibility of high returns — the kind of tenfold payback that Bitcoin owners experienced if they bought in early 2019 and sold in early 2021.