Economist Thinks It’s About Time For Bitcoin To ‘Put Up – Or Shut Up’

Bitcoin has been one of the most popular topics on our DC Forecasts crypto news site – and it seems like this trend will continue. In 2018, the prices of crypto have bottommed which led many to believe that cryptocurrencies are losing on interest.

One economist named Tyler Cowen, thinks that now is the time for Bitcoin to show us what it has under its belt. In an op-ed published in Bloomberg, Cowen, who is a professor at George Mason University, said that a crypto price crash could be beneficial for the market as it would prepare it for something big in the future.

Referencing the 19th-century bubble which saw the collapse of railroad stocks and the dotcom crash of 2000, Cowen beleives that there have always been some negatives with plenty of positives. As he explained:

“Internet stocks plunged in the dot-com crash of 2000-2002, but that in turn cleaned out the bad companies and paved the way for the subsequent tech revolution, including the rise of Amazon and Google.”

For Cowen, cryptocurrencies need to make a leap forward. Even though they have a lot of use cases right now (trans border payments, dApps etc.), he beleives that the slump in prices will lead to even more discussion on how to make crypto more relevant while protecting investor funds. As he explained:

“We’re at the point where crypto finally has to prove its social worth. But what might that mean? Imagine using crypto as a medium of micropayments to pay for media on the internet. Or perhaps you’ll use the blockchain to verify your identity, rather than telling some stranger on the phone the last four digits of your Social Security number.”

Cowen concluded his point by stating that now is the time for Bitcoin to show up, pointing to its “do or die moment” and saying that Bitcoin needs to “put up or shut up.”

“Think of bitcoin and other crypto-assets as like a company that is finally receiving a cash call. I am modestly optimistic, but it is time to put up or shut up. Let us hope that this ‘do or die’ moment will once again bring out the best in entrepreneurs,” Cowen concluded.