First Mover: What People Said About Bitcoin in 2020 (Both Good and Bad) – CoinDesk

Bitcoin (BTC) was higher, changing hands just above $23,000 after dropping for two straight days from a record high around $24,300. 

“The market looks to begin a consolidation phase above $22,000,” according to Matt Blom, head of sales and trading for the cryptocurrency firm Diginex. “Further attempts to drive the market lower are likely to be met with firm support from the bulls.”

XRP (XRP), the digital asset used for payments, fell for a fourth straight day, down 17% over that stretch, after Brad Garlinghouse, CEO for San Francisco-based Ripple, said he had been informed by regulators that the company would be sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The coming suit is believed to relate to sale of XRP, and whether the tokens represent securities that needed to be registered with authorities. Ripple disputes the claim and argues that other branches of the U.S. government have deemed XRP to be a currency. 

“It’s an attack on the entire crypto industry and American innovation,” Garlinghouse said in an emailed statement.

In traditional markets, European stocks recovered some of Monday’s steep losses while U.S. stock futures wavered between gains and losses, as investors assessed elevated coronavirus case levels alongside the rollout of vaccines and economic-stimulus measures.  

Bitcoin was launched in early 2009, and during its first decade a lot of notable and well-respected investors, economists, bank executives and financial-news commentators said a lot of things about the cryptocurrency.

Times change, and it’s arguable that, in the push and pull of global markets, all that’s now old news or maybe just water under the bridge. 

But as First Mover reviews the year that was, anything said in 2020 is fair game. Here’s a brief rundown of some notable pronunciations on bitcoin, in chronological order, as bitcoin tripled in price to about $23,000 from $7,168 at the start of the year.

Jan 22, 2020. Peter Schiff, CEO, Euro Pacific Capital, via tweet: “I concede that many people who bought bitcoin in the past and sell it now will profit. But those who buy it now and hold will suffer a loss.” 

Feb. 24, 2020. Warren Buffett, billionaire CEO of the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, in CNBC interview: “Cryptocurrencies basically have no value.” 

Feb. 28, 2020. Greg Cipolaro, then-co-founder of Digital Asset Research, now head of research for NYDIG, in interview: “As interest rates decline, you’re more likely to tip the seesaw toward assets that don’t have yield, such as collectible assets like artwork or gold or bitcoin.”  

March 9, 2020. Connor Abendschein, a research analyst for Digital Assets Data, in email: “Bitcoin may find its footing and shine further down the road during this financial crisis.”

March 12, 2020. Kevin Kelly, lead analyst at the cryptocurrency analysis firm Delphi Digital, said: “Bitcoin and crypto in general still very much sit further out the risk…