Analyst: Bitcoin is no longer a "tulip bubble" asset; its 17 years of resilience and multiple cycles prove its uniqueness

BlockBeats News, December 7, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas stated that although bitcoin has recently experienced a significant pullback, 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 eliminated after a single crash; whereas bitcoin has survived for 17 years, repeatedly reaching new all-time highs after enduring 6–7 rounds of sharp declines.

Bitcoin has still risen by about 250% over the past three years, with a 122% surge just last year. The current decline is more like "giving back last year's excessive gains." Even if it remains flat or slightly down throughout 2025, its long-term average annualized return would still be 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 valuable assets. The tulip bubble was a typical "one-time mania plus crash" structure, whereas bitcoin is clearly a completely different asset class.