Just two months ago, Bitcoin and the global crypto markets looked hotter than ever: 1 BTC was worth nearly $68,000, bringing its total market capitalization to $1.27 trillion; The global crypto market capitalization was $3.1 trillion. Now, a multi-day selloff has seen over $620 billion evaporate from Bitcoin’s market capitalization and another $1 trillion from the crypto globally, including around $130 billion in the last 24 hours alone. .
This is partly due to a well-established trend: when investors fear that the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy and raise interest rates, they tend to withdraw from risky assets. Over the past week, we have started to see corrections emerge as the NASDAQ, Dow and S&P all approach or exceed 10% declines from year highs. The downturn is affecting the dollar value of even cryptoassets that are resisting macro trends. The Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs were down nearly 28% early Monday in dollars, for example, even though their floor price in ETH has risen.
You would think this would inspire some thought or debate about whether crypto-assets are really inflation hedges, as many proponents point out, or their use as a store of value. Instead, we got inspired memes as the defenders double down and the doubters start taking shots.
When major fixes and crashes begin to materialize in crypto, memes reliably emerge centered around crypto traders having to take jobs at McDonald’s. This crash is no different. Many memes have pointed out how Bitcoin’s price volatility over the past year resembles the company golden bow logo, while others lament get ready for work at McDonald’s.
“ETH down? Can’t afford to live? We got you,” reads @MCJobAppNFT’s bio. “Apply now for your dream 9-to-5 job at McDonalds with our application.” This account is linked to the OpenSea NFT marketplace, where it offers 1,111 NFTs which are only McDonald’s applications.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who has made bitcoin his country’s legal tender and is trying to turn it into a cryptocurrency hub, shared a picture of him in a photoshopped McDonald’s uniform over the weekend. Things got even weirder as the selloff continued over the next few days, with Bukele tweeting on Monday: “Most people come in when price is up but the safest and most profitable time to buy is when the price is falling. It’s not rocket science. So invest part of your McDonald’s paycheck in Bitcoin. Now go back and back more burgers, you lazy fvck! »
Rated crypto influencer “Cobie” (formerly Crypto Cobain) replied, “Sir, they don’t need to invest their McDonalds paycheck because they paid taxes and then you invested it for them on top .”
Another meme features several of Bitcoin’s biggest advocates – from MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor to US Senator Cynthia Lummis and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey – serving McDonald’s to a customer.
Unlike gallows humor and laughter that may (or may not) mask tears, the Bitcoin subreddit is full of more encouraging words that, at times, border on parody. One of the best posts right now is a photo of an aging Baron Rothschild next to a quote that reads “Buy when there’s blood in the streets, even if the blood is yours”. Another important article is a video titled “2013 BTC hodler POV” and features a dancing giant Pepe with roller skates and headphones as a city burns and explodes around them. Another recently added post explains that the recent crash has “felt liberated” them and wonders if anyone else feels the same way. “Reminds me of how much more there is to life,” user keep writing. “I can believe in the future of Bitcoin and not be dragged down by Reddit, Twitter and general FUD. I feel good, it’s really nice.
Still, Bitcoiners who have been in this business for a long time are probably winding down. A common refrain that emerged during this multi-day sale is that the ones that have held up for years are still up – and it is. Although Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are largely speculative assets with narrow usage values that are somewhat questionable, anyone who bought Bitcoin before January 2021 or Ethereum before April 2021 is still ready to bet.
The problem is that many investors have gotten involved this year alone: centralized crypto exchanges have seen $14 trillion in transaction volume in 2021, this represents a 689% increase from 2020. In October, a Harris poll suggested 23% of African Americans own cryptocurrency. The industry has been targeting some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society initiating support for a volatile asset presented as both resistant to macro-economic developments but also unfairly sensitive to them —unique disruptor of the status quo of finance while also strengthen it.
Despite all this, the bubble is unlikely to deflate just yet. It is both a blessing and a curse for the hordes of people being sold or about to be sold, the great white hope of crypto-wealth.
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