Wikipedia Co-Founder Claims Bitcoin Is Not Used as Money

Wikipedia Co-Founder: No One Is Using Bitcoin as Money

Summary:
Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, has criticized Bitcoin, asserting that it fails in its roles as both currency and store of value. He believes Bitcoin's future valuation will drop significantly due to its limited practical use, predicting it will become a niche collectible.

Key Takeaways:

Jimmy Wales labels Bitcoin a "complete failure" as both money and a store of value.
He predicts Bitcoin's price may drop below $10,000 by 2050 as it lacks practical utility.
Wales argues that Bitcoin is not used as money, supported by El Salvador's failed adoption of it as legal tender.
He distinguishes between Bitcoin and its hard-capped derivatives, asserting that a hard cap does not guarantee price growth.
Despite his criticisms, he does not foresee Bitcoin collapsing entirely but expects its value to align with hobbyist interests.

Bitcoin Viewed as a Failed Currency

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has once again criticized Bitcoin. In a tweet, he referred to the leading cryptocurrency as a “complete failure” in terms of its function as both a currency and a store of value. Previously, as reported by U.Today, he suggested that by 2050, Bitcoin could revert to a niche collectible with a price tag of less than $10,000.

Wales argues that practically no one utilizes Bitcoin as actual money. He stated, "Bitcoin can't possibly lose 'global monetary consensus'—it doesn't have anything resembling global monetary consensus to lose. Virtually no one is using it as money."

The Case of El Salvador

Wales specifically pointed to El Salvador, the first nation to officially adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, claiming that the country has effectively “abandoned the concept as a failure.”

Questioning the Value of Hard Caps

Wales also challenged the widespread crypto belief that having a “hard cap” guarantees price appreciation. He compared Bitcoin to its hard-capped counterparts, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV).

"Having a hard cap does not imply a growth in price for a fundamentally valueless asset," he explained. Wales forecasts that these alternative coins will likely only experience price fluctuations at what he refers to as a "hobbyist level" rather than achieving significant wealth accumulation in the coming decades.

Future of Bitcoin

Despite his tough stance, Wales clarified that he doesn’t think Bitcoin is on the brink of total collapse. "People who think that Bitcoin is going to zero are likely mistaken," he stated earlier this week. He recognized that the underlying structure of the network is robust enough to endure indefinitely unless major cryptographic failures or unexpected 51% attacks occur. Even in a catastrophic scenario, he believes a fork may enable the system to continue functioning.

However, for Wales, mere survival does not equate to success. Instead of anticipating Bitcoin to dominate as the money of the future, he foresees its value eventually declining due to its limited practical applications.

"What it can do, though, is decline to a price consistent with hobbyist tinkering," he concluded. "So I'd suggest a 2050 price target of under $10,000 in today’s dollars. Possibly much lower.”