Bitcoin is up 170% since the ECB called its ‘last gasp’ at $16.4K

Bitcoin (BTC) has gained almost 170% since the European Central Bank (ECB) warned of its impending “irrelevance.”

As noted by crypto proponent Eric Wall and others on Dec. 4, BTC price action has done the complete opposite of economists’ predictions.

ECB Bitcoin myopia: “What else are they wrong about?”

Bitcoin traded at just $16,400 when on Nov. 30, 2022, the ECB published a blog post dedicated to its death.

Coming just after the implosion of exchange FTX and subsequent market flight, the post argued that even those levels were a stopping point on the way to new lows.

“The value of bitcoin peaked at USD 69,000 in November 2021 before falling to USD 17,000 by mid-June 2022. Since then, the value has fluctuated around USD 20,000,” it stated.

“For bitcoin proponents, the seeming stabilization signals a breather on the way to new heights. More likely, however, it is an artificially induced last gasp before the road to irrelevance – and this was already foreseeable before FTX went bust and sent the bitcoin price to well below USD16,000.”

This “last gasp” initially continued to play out. After ironically gaining % on the day of publication, BTC/USD then saw one revisit of $16,400 in mid-December. Thereafter, a swift comeback saw it add 70% in Q1, 2023 alone.

A year after the ECB’s premature obituary, Bitcoin is at its highest since April 2022 — at $43,800 at the time of writing, or 166% higher than when the bank sounded the alarm, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.

Commenting on the amusing blunder, Philip Swift, creator of statistics platform Look Into Bitcoin, joined Wall in feeling a sense of satisfaction.

“You love to see it,” he commented while reposting a chart by Wall on X (formerly Twitter).

Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at crypto education resource Galaxy, queried the ECB’s prowess.

“This really is as good as it gets,” he replied to Wall.

“If they’re this wrong about this, what else are they wrong about?”

“Yes” to CBDC, “no” to BTC

The ECB is known as a Bitcoin skeptic, and takes on the market by both the bank and its senior officials often induce embarrassment.

Related: Breakout or $40K bull trap? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Last month, ECB Chief Christine Lagarde complained that her son had “ignored” her advice on investing in crypto and lost money as a result.

“I have, as you can tell, a very low opinion of cryptos,” Lagarde said at a speaking engagement quoted by Reuters.

As Cointelegraph reported, the ECB is currently preparing for the possible rollout of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, which has faced intense scrutiny after Lagarde admitted its utility for transaction “control.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.