TLDR
- Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales characterizes Bitcoin as a “complete failure” when evaluated as both a currency and store of value
- Wales predicts Bitcoin will be valued under $10,000 in today’s purchasing power by 2050
- While critical, Wales doesn’t anticipate Bitcoin collapsing to zero, citing its strong technical architecture
- He dismisses institutional interest as purely profit-seeking and refutes arguments that artificial intelligence is driving crypto growth
- Wales points to practical barriers like high transaction fees, volatile pricing, and sparse merchant adoption as reasons Bitcoin can’t achieve mainstream currency status
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales ignited debate in the crypto community this week through a series of posts on X, where he declared Bitcoin a “complete failure” as a functional form of money.
Wales has a history of skepticism toward Bitcoin. Back in 2020, he publicly stated that he had yet to identify a compelling practical application for the digital currency, while clarifying he wasn’t inherently opposed to the concept.
His latest commentary emerged after users on X argued that Bitcoin’s capped supply makes it superior to gold, and suggested that the expansion of digital economies would inevitably drive broader cryptocurrency acceptance.
Wales directly confronted these arguments. He portrayed Bitcoin as inadequate for serving as currency and labeled it “a speculative asset at best.”
He further rejected claims that artificial intelligence is driving cryptocurrency adoption. “AI bots are not adopting crypto in meaningful numbers,” he declared.
However, Wales stopped short of predicting Bitcoin’s complete collapse. He suggests those expecting the price to hit zero are “likely mistaken,” pointing to the cryptocurrency’s solid underlying technology.
He also mentioned that even in the event of a major network attack, the system would likely survive through a software fork.
This places Wales in an interesting middle ground — highly skeptical of Bitcoin’s future utility, while not forecasting its total elimination.
Nevertheless, his long-term price projection remains deeply pessimistic. “I’d suggest a 2050 price target of under $10,000 in today’s dollars. Possibly much lower,” he wrote.
Wales Outlines Bitcoin’s Practical Limitations for Everyday Use
Wales made a practical argument against Bitcoin by presenting a simple real-world scenario. As a UK resident, he explained that he can instantly send £10 to a friend through his bank at zero cost.
Executing the identical transaction using Bitcoin, he pointed out, would necessitate buying the cryptocurrency, paying spread fees, covering blockchain transaction costs, and converting back to pounds — incurring yet another spread.
He also addressed comparisons some users drew between contemporary Bitcoin skeptics and those who doubted the internet in its early days. Wales stated he finds this comparison unpersuasive.
Wales Highlights Key Differences Between Gold and Bitcoin
In Wales’ view, gold differs fundamentally from Bitcoin because it has real-world industrial and decorative applications beyond its investment value and doesn’t depend on continuous network operations to maintain its existence.
Bitcoin, by contrast, depends on miners and supporting infrastructure to keep functioning, which he views as an inherent weakness.
Wales did acknowledge one valid use case for cryptocurrency — allowing people living under authoritarian governments to move assets outside state control.
Nonetheless, he maintained this specific application is far too narrow to justify crypto achieving mainstream adoption as currency.
Bitcoin was trading at $68,716 at the time of the original reporting, showing a 7% increase from the day prior. The cryptocurrency has since pulled back and is currently valued below $70,000.
