Bitcoin Isn’t Going to Zero: Why Experts Have Been Wrong for 15 Years

Since its earliest years, the refrain has been loud and clear: Bitcoin is going to zero. Nobel laureates, top bankers, influential investors, and professors from prestigious universities have all said it. The tone was often sharp and sometimes mocking. But there’s one problem with these predictions: fifteen years later, Bitcoin still exists. In fact, in 2025 it’s trading at historic highs. This raises an interesting question: how could so many economic and financial authorities have been wrong?

Early Criticism of Bitcoin

When Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, many saw it as a technical curiosity with no real value. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman called it a bubble wrapped in libertarian ideology. Joseph Stiglitz said Bitcoin should be banned, while Nouriel Roubini warned of the “mother of all bubbles.” Big names in investing joined in: Warren Buffett called it “rat poison squared,” and Charlie Munger simply called it worthless.

For many economists, it was incomprehensible that something without a physical form or central authority could have value. They argued it lacked intrinsic worth and practical use as a payment method. From their perspective, it was only a matter of time before Bitcoin collapsed.

Why the Predictions Failed

It’s easy to say now that they were wrong, but at the time, their arguments weren’t unreasonable. Reality, however, turned out differently. Bitcoin’s unique design shields it from many of the issues that plague traditional currencies. Its fixed supply of 21 million coins and decentralized structure make inflation and political manipulation impossible.

Bitcoin has also built a strong community of developers, entrepreneurs, and investors who continually improve the network. While critics claimed it was useless, adoption spread worldwide. Major companies began accepting it as payment, and institutional investors started to treat it like digital gold.

The Climb to Record Highs

Despite multiple crashes and sharp downturns, Bitcoin kept bouncing back. From being worth less than one euro in 2010, it climbed to over $120,000 in 2025. And yet, many of the same voices that declared it dead a decade earlier are still warning of an imminent collapse.

One major difference today is that Bitcoin has become part of the global financial system. Major banks offer Bitcoin-based investment products, and governments are crafting regulations to manage its use rather than ban it. This gives it a legitimacy it never had before.

The Role of Misunderstandings and Bias

Many faulty predictions came from judging Bitcoin by the standards of traditional finance. Economists accustomed to currencies backed by central banks saw a decentralized digital asset as unsustainable.

There’s also a psychological factor: established experts often dismiss new technologies at first. We’ve seen it with the internet, smartphones, and social media. Bitcoin fits perfectly into that pattern.

What This Means for the Future

Bitcoin’s 15-year survival doesn’t guarantee that its price will keep rising. Volatility remains high, and the risks are real. But history shows that writing Bitcoin off too soon can be a costly mistake for serious investors.

More analysts now view Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. Some countries are even considering adding Bitcoin to their reserves. These developments make it increasingly unlikely that Bitcoin will go to zero anytime soon.