I have to thank Charlie and Warren for keeping me clear-eyed about crypto. Their blunt assessment made me immune to the claims that they really might have some useful niche or value. Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman had some interesting comments today:

" First, today’s price action shouldn’t change your view about Bitcoin’s usefulness or lack thereof. If, like me, you consider the whole thing a delusion — BTC isn’t a medium of exchange, nor is it a reliable store of value — then you already knew that and the fact that we seem to be having a Wile E. Coyote moment isn’t information about the fundamentals. (There are no fundamentals.) If you have some story about why this aging financial innovation is actually useful — do tell...

Second, the fact that BTC is now lower than it was before the 2024 election is significant in two ways. It shows the limits of political favor — all the boasts about making American a crypto superpower, all the deregulatory talk and pardons for cryptocriminals, in the end couldn’t defy gravity...

And in general the whole “Say what you like about Trump, but markets are up” mindset must be under severe strain."