Bitcoin obituaries are articles or public statements declaring that Bitcoin is dead or doomed. Trackers have counted hundreds of them since 2010, often after sharp price falls. Past recoveries do not mean bitcoin will recover again: it can lose much or all of its value, so only risk money you can afford to lose.
What counts as a Bitcoin obituary?
A Bitcoin obituary is any public claim that Bitcoin is dead, has failed or is about to collapse. It can be a news story, an opinion column, an interview or an official blog post. The 99Bitcoins tracker logs each one with its date and the bitcoin price that day, and notes that these claims often appear during market downturns or regulatory challenges.
How many times has Bitcoin been declared dead?
As of September 2026, the 99Bitcoins Bitcoin Obituaries tracker counts 477. Its earliest entry dates from December 2010 and its most recent from August 2025. The total depends on what the tracker chooses to include, so read it as a rough measure of sentiment, not an exact count.
What are some famous Bitcoin obituaries?
These five well-known examples link to their original sources:
- June 2013: a New York Magazine column titled “Bitcoin Sees the Grim Reaper” opened with “Bitcoin’s path to the grave has always been fairly clear to me.”
- March 2014: Warren Buffett told CNBC: “Stay away from it. It’s a mirage, basically.”
- January 2016: former Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn wrote that the “now inescapable conclusion” was that Bitcoin “has failed”, and that he had sold all his coins.
- May 2018: at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, Buffett called bitcoin “probably rat poison squared”.
- February 2024: a European Central Bank blog post said Bitcoin “has failed on the promise to be a global decentralised digital currency”.
What do Bitcoin obituaries tell you, and what don’t they?
They show how fast sentiment can turn. Many were written after the price had already fallen hard, so each one records a moment of fear or doubt. Many also make points worth reading: the price swings widely, no company or government stands behind it, and critics question its use as money.
Obituaries do not tell you what happens next. Bitcoin is still traded today despite hundreds of them, but past recoveries do not guarantee future ones. Bitcoin can lose much or all of its value, and a long list of wrong calls does not prove the next one wrong. Past performance does not predict future results.
Why do Bitcoin obituaries matter when you buy crypto?
They are a reminder to plan for bad news before it arrives. Headlines swing between hype and obituaries, and neither tells you what bitcoin will do next. Only put in money you can afford to lose, and read is Bitcoin safe to buy? first. Some holders choose to HODL through falls, which is a personal choice with real risk. If you decide to buy, see the Bitcoin price and payment options.
What are the risks and red flags?
- Treating a headline as a signal. An obituary is an opinion, not a forecast. The same goes for posts that say a rising obituary count means it is time to buy.
- Selling in a panic. Obituaries pile up after big falls, when fear is high. Mass selling in that mood is called capitulation.
- One-sided stories. Some negative stories are FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), while others raise real risks. Posts saying Bitcoin “always comes back” are just as one-sided. Check who is speaking and what they gain.
- Scams that feed on fear. Be wary of anyone who offers to recover your losses or promises returns after a crash. See how to protect yourself from fraud.
Go deeper: what volatility is and why crypto prices swing.
