The Financial Times (FT) has issued a controversial “apology” after Bitcoin breached the $100,000 mark on December 5, 2024.
The apology, published on FT Alphaville, the publication’s daily news commentary service, was perceived by many as a backhanded admission of its failure to foresee Bitcoin’s rise.
FT’s ‘Apology’
The article, written by Bryce Elder, City Editor of FT Alphaville, was framed as an apology to those who had, for over a decade, taken the publication’s critical stance on Bitcoin at face value and refrained from investing in the asset.
“We’re sorry if at any moment in the past 14 years you chose based on our coverage not to buy a thing whose number has gone up. It’s nice when your number goes up,” Elder wrote while adding a jab at traditional finance.
“We’re sorry if you misunderstood our crypto cynicism to be a declaration of support for tradfi, because we hate that too.”
Although the statement was meant to sound like an apology, the tone and wording made many in the crypto community skeptical. The article, published the same day Bitcoin’s price rose above $100,000, seemed more like sarcastic commentary than a genuine apology.
The news agency has long been critical of Bitcoin, dating back to its first article on the cryptocurrency, published on June 6, 2011, when the asset was priced at just $15.90.
The latest apology article detailed how past FT Alphaville posts had portrayed Bitcoin as a “negative-sum game,” criticizing its inefficiency as a store of value or medium of exchange.
The author added that Bitcoin’s value had been viewed as disconnected from utility, and its price was described as an “arbitrary hype gauge.” The post also concluded by maintaining their original position, writing, “We stand by every single one of those posts.”
Community Backlash
The so-called apology did not sit well with Bitcoin enthusiasts. Many took to X to criticize the Financial Times for issuing a sarcastic “Cope-Pology” instead of a genuine admission of error.
One user described it as the “saltiest, most petty apology” they had ever seen, while another person remarked that it was hard to imagine being so wrong and still lacking humility.
The Financial Times has consistently maintained its anti-Bitcoin stance. In 2014, the site published a critique of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, likening them to a “reckless” doctor.
The article, written by Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve risk examiner, argued that Bitcoin’s fixed supply failed to account for economic fluctuations. He likened the creator’s approach to giving penicillin to every patient without first checking whether they are suffering from infection, depression, or mania.
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