Analyst: Bitcoin is no longer a "tulip bubble" asset; its resilience since 2017 and multiple cycles prove its uniqueness

On December 7, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas stated that despite Bitcoin’s recent sharp correction, it is inappropriate to compare it to the 17th-century “tulip bubble.” He pointed out that the tulip mania lasted only about three years and was completely wiped out after a single crash, whereas Bitcoin has survived for 17 years, experiencing 6–7 rounds of severe declines and repeatedly reaching new all-time highs. In the past three years, Bitcoin has still risen by about 250%, and last year alone it surged 122%. The current decline looks more like “giving back last year’s excessive gains.” Even if Bitcoin remains flat or falls slightly throughout 2025, its long-term average annualized return is still around 50%. Eric emphasized that the only similarity between Bitcoin and tulips is that both are “non-productive assets,” but gold, Picasso paintings, and rare stamps are also non-productive and have long been regarded as stores of value. The tulip bubble was a typical “one-off frenzy and crash” structure, whereas Bitcoin is clearly a completely different asset class.