Bitcoin falling to bits?

In a favorite topic here on Money Matters, Bitcoin is once again in the news and not in a good way. Bitcoin has had a rough start to 2026, falling from $88,731 to its present hovering price of $60,000 something. It hit $126,000 around October 2025. Considering it started way back in October 2009 at 0.00099, I must, as I have continued to, keep from laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I mean anything that goes from ten-thousandths of a penny to $126,000 in less than a decade and a half cannot, in my mind, be taken seriously no matter what anyone says. I have called Bitcoin vapor before, and I will do it again in today's musing. Apparently, other notables are beginning to think the same thing, and some have thought it a long time ago. An economic think tank, the Brookings Institution, said long ago on Jan., 20, 2021, "(Bitcoin) has no intrinsic value and is not backed by anything." More recently, on Jan. 30, 2025, Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama predicted Bitcoin will become worthless. Famed investor and co-partner of Berkshire Hathaway and the number two man for investing icon Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, had no love for Bitcoin and didn't mince words. Labeling it "disgusting," "worthless," "rat poison" and "contrary to the interests of civilization," he thought it was a dangerous, speculative gambling tool rather than a productive asset and advocated for its banning altogether. Just last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has no authority and no intention to bail out Bitcoin investors. He added, "Any Bitcoin held by the U.S. government will come only from asset seizures, not taxpayer-funded purchases." There are many reasons I, and others, are more than a bit skeptical about the future of Bitcoin. Its lack of being price stable makes it unusable as a store of value. Anything even considered to be a currency or medium of exchange must not jump around like a Mexican jumping bean. Bitcoin has other problems like lack of intrinsic value, practical limitations (like needing electricity to use it), legality issues, environmental concerns (requires enormous power to create) and exposure to criminality. It is no secret a number of exchanges where people have bought Bitcoin have gone bankrupt, taking investors' money with it. Some investors have had their Bitcoin accounts hacked, and losing a password to your Bitcoin account leaves an investor with no options. I find it a sad state of affairs that some investors have, for whatever reason, lost everything. Even a repeated detractor and reader here that generated more than a few irate emails to my inbox and letters to the editor went suspiciously silent when the exchange he was using went belly up, taking most if not all his money with it. And to those who believe Bitcoin's anonymity and separation from central governments isolate their money from government intervention, think again. Any government that feels its currency is threatened by Bitcoin can, and has, in more than a few cases simply shut down the exchange access from the web or declare it illegal with fines and jail time. Some will argue the price of Bitcoin can only go up due to the limited number of coins that can be created. Just because something is scarce doesn't make it valuable or viable. I am obviously not a fan of Bitcoin and will continue to argue against it, noting the inherent deficiencies this and other cyber coins have in their current form. That said, there are many Bitcoin supporters running around and the arguments for its existence are many. But when I hold it up against the time-tested economic truths of currencies, money, mediums of exchange and how markets function, I just don't buy it. And therefore, I won't. This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a BA in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com.