Bitcoin's "Institutional Validation" Is Just a Fancy Way to Say "Greater Fool"
Alright, let's get one thing straight. I'm seeing headlines about Harvard buying almost half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin, and everyone's screaming "institutional validation!" Give me a break. It's not validation; it's just a bigger sucker jumping into the pool.
So, Harvard's got $442 million in the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Big deal. They've also got a $57 billion endowment. That Bitcoin investment? Less than 1%. It's like you or me throwing a twenty at a roulette table. If it hits, cool. If it doesn't, who cares?
And Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg Intelligence calls it "as good a validation as an ETF can get." Seriously? Validation? It's diversification, plain and simple. These institutions aren't betting the farm on Bitcoin; they're hedging their bets, probably because some fancy-pants analyst told them it's "prudent."
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is down roughly 27% from its all-time high last month. Up less than 0.5% in the last year, while the S\&P 500 rose 13%. Some validation.
But here's the kicker: Harvard didn't even comment on why they invested. That tells you everything, doesn't it? It's not some grand endorsement of crypto's future; it's just another line item in a spreadsheet.
Strategy Inc. bought $835.6 million in Bitcoin last week, their largest purchase since July. That brings their total holdings to something like $61.7 billion. Saylor's doubling down, alright, but is he buying because he actually believes in the long-term value of Bitcoin, or because he's trying to pump up his own bags? I ain't saying, I'm just saying...
This whole situation stinks of the "greater fool" theory. You buy something not because it's intrinsically valuable, but because you expect someone else – a greater fool – to pay even more for it later. Harvard buys Bitcoin, retail investors see Harvard buying Bitcoin, retail investors buy Bitcoin, Harvard sells Bitcoin... you see where I'm going with this? According to Harvard now owns nearly half a billion dollars worth of Bitcoin, filings show.
And let's not forget all those "cookie notices" we all blindly click through every day. What are they really doing with our data? Are they using that data to manipulate markets? I wouldn't put it past them.
I mean, who really understands how these things work? We're all just clicking "I agree" and hoping for the best.
Look, I get it. Crypto promised to be this revolutionary, decentralized force that would disrupt the old financial order. And yeah, the bitcoin etf launch felt like a win. But what's happened? It's become just another asset class for the wealthy to play with. The same institutions that crypto was supposed to overthrow are now the biggest players.
And what about the little guy? The person who's putting their hard-earned savings into Bitcoin hoping to get rich quick? They're the ones who are going to get burned when the music stops.
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Bitcoin is the future. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old cynic who's missing out on the next big thing. But color me skeptical. Very skeptical.
It's not "institutional validation"; it's institutional opportunism. They're not investing in Bitcoin because they believe in its principles; they're investing because they think they can make a buck. And when the time comes, they'll dump their bags on the heads of the retail investors who were foolish enough to follow them.
