'Satoshi, Please Forgive Us': Bitcoiners Lament Crypto Evolution Into A 'Gamble Market'

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, was trending on X early Monday as Bitcoiners, holders of the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency, lamented how much the industry has changed since the BTC white paper emerged in 2008.

The discussion was kick-started by prominent crypto market analyst Benjamin Cowen, who also called out incoming U.S. President Donald Trump for launching his official memecoin when many were expecting a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

"Satoshi, please forgive us," he wrote on X, and within minutes, Bitcoiners flooded the comments section to share their own frustrations over the drastic changes that the crypto sector experienced through the years.

Lost Along the Way, 'Degeneracy,' or Gambling?

From Bitcoin's white paper and the crypto asset's ultimate launch early in 2009, things have changed. Altcoins, crypto coins beyond BTC that offer some sort of utility, emerged to hopefully rival Bitcoin's dominance.

In the beginning, some altcoins had much potential, but various factors such as market volatility, regulatory hurdles, and geopolitical waves affected their growth.

Through the ruckus, Bitcoin continued to grow and last month, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value hit an all-time high above $108,000.

Despite Bitcoin's apparent resilience through the years, it's clear that some things have changed, and some Bitcoiners are realizing it.

For one user, forgiveness isn't the real issue at this point. "The real question is, are we still chasing the same vision Satoshi had? Or have we lost our way in a sea of hype and altcoin nonsense?" he wrote.

One user had a different take, saying crypto holders and traders do need forgiveness for their "degeneracy," a term used in the community to describe the act of buying into very high-risk coins, especially new memecoins whose launches were built around much hype.

Another user sees the changes on a more critical note, saying crypto has now become a "pure gamble market." While the said comments may not be entirely true, crypto has given birth to new segments that some may view as gambling, including decentralized prediction markets.

In another way, there could also be some gambling in meme tokens, that is, when holders bet most or all of their funds on new memecoins that ultimately tank in the long run. Not all memecoins have had the same path as others have continued to grow gradually, but majority of meme crypto assets have undeniably plummeted.

One user said he was both curious and also "really scared" about the direction crypto is taking. "This s*** is getting out of control. For real," the user said.

Are the ETFs to Blame?

Many of the commenters on the matter merely agreed that the crypto industry needs forgiveness from Nakamoto, who envisioned Bitcoin as a form of exchange and a store of value for the people—beyond the control of government.

For one user, the biggest shift took place when applications were filed over a decade ago for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). "We invited the tradfi (traditional finance) mafia to our home, current crypto situation makes tradfi seem more sane and honest," the user wrote.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in January 2024, and months later, Ethereum ETFs were also given the green light. Since then, there have been filings for other altcoin ETFs, including for XRP, Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), and Hedera (HBAR).

Meanwhile, major coins like BTC, XRP, Solana, Cardano (ADA), and others are down in the day, while several PolitiFi tokens are up, including TRUMP, MELANIA, Doland Tremp (TREMP), and Dark MAGA (DMAGA).