We do not know which characteristics affect cryptocurrency prices, if any. The column argues that there are two fundamental factors that drive prices in the long run: the trustworthiness of the cryptocurrency’s blockchain and the adoption of the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero are affected by these fundamentals. In some periods prices deviate, but eventually retrace the trend.
One investor who wasn’t deterred was Barstool Sports Inc. founder Dave Portnoy. In May, he announced to his 2.6 million followers on Twitter that he’d bought $40,000 worth, despite saying that SafeMoon could be a Ponzi scheme, a scam in which early investors’ returns are paid with funds coming from later buyers that collapses when new deposits dry up or too many people try to cash out.

Senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: “Alek Skarlatos, a hero soldier-turned-Republican congressional candidate, started a nonprofit shortly after his 2020 defeat in a western Oregon race, pledging to advocate for veterans ‘left high and dry’ by the country ‘they put their lives on the line for.’” But, The Associated Press’ Brian Slodysko reports, “the group, which Skarlatos seeded with $93,000 in leftover campaign funds, has done little since then to advance that cause.”