Money Talks

The Bitcoin Dream Is Dead

Bitcoin’s recent 25% plunge illustrates why it will never be a true currency

James Surowiecki
Marker
Published in
6 min readJan 13, 2021

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An illustration of a conceptual Bitcoin placed behind clouds in the sky as a rainbow crosses the sky.
Illustration: Delcan & Co.

On May 22, 2010, a Bitcoin developer named Laszlo Hanyecz bought what may have been the most expensive meal in human history when he paid someone 10,000 Bitcoins to pick up and deliver him two pizzas from Papa John’s. Given that one Bitcoin is now…

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James Surowiecki
Marker
Writer for

I’m the author of The Wisdom of Crowds. I’ve been a business columnist for Slate and The New Yorker and written for a wide range of other publications.