Bitcoin is a little like jazz or abstract art — it’s endlessly debated, often deeply misunderstood, and occasionally polarizing. While early adopters champion it as the future of money, critics are quick to call it speculative, dangerous, or downright wasteful. I have friends and family members that often challenge my belief that Bitcoin is a better way. I’ve noticed over the years that there are some common and often repeated criticisms. So, I thought I’d do my best to address the most often heard assertions, one-by-one, and offer my response. So, let’s walk through 10 of the most common criticisms of Bitcoin and take a look at the counterarguments. Whether you’re a curious newcomer or a crypto skeptic, consider these ideas.
1. “Bitcoin uses too much energy.”
The Criticism: Bitcoin’s mining process (proof of work) consumes as much energy as some small countries, raising concerns about its environmental impact.
The Response: Yes, Bitcoin is energy-intensive — by design. It’s what secures the network and prevents fraud. However, energy use isn’t the same as energy waste. A few points to consider:
- Much of Bitcoin mining gravitates to where energy is cheap and abundant — often stranded or renewable sources like hydropower in Sichuan or geothermal in Iceland.
- According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, over 50% of mining energy comes from sustainable sources.
- Traditional banking and gold mining consume significant energy too — they’re just more opaque.
Still, it’s a valid concern. Many in the Bitcoin community support innovations like Layer 2 solutions (e.g., the Lightning Network) to reduce base-layer transactions and minimize energy use over time.
2. “Bitcoin is too volatile to be a real currency.”
The Criticism: Prices swing wildly. One month it’s up 40%, the next it crashes. How can anyone use that to buy a sandwich?
The Response: Absolutely — Bitcoin’s price is volatile. But it’s not the only asset that behaved this way early on. Amazon stock, for example, lost over 90% of its value in the dot-com bust before becoming a trillion-dollar company. Volatility reflects Bitcoin’s youth, thin liquidity, and its dual identity as both store of value and emerging tech investment. Over time, with wider adoption and more infrastructure (ETFs, payment rails, etc.), volatility has decreased. In hyperinflationary countries like Argentina or Venezuela, Bitcoin’s volatility is actually less than their fiat alternatives.
3. “Bitcoin is used by criminals.”
The Criticism: It’s anonymous, untraceable, and the preferred currency of hackers and drug dealers.
The Response: It’s a classic association, but not entirely accurate.
- Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous. Every transaction is recorded on a public blockchain — forever. Law enforcement increasingly uses forensic tools (like Chainalysis) to track illicit activity.
- Illicit use of Bitcoin has dropped dramatically. A 2022 report from Chainalysis found that only 0.24% of crypto transactions were associated with criminal activity.
- U.S. dollars are still the currency of choice for criminals, globally.
In short, yes, Bitcoin has been used for illegal things — like every technology from the internet to envelopes. That doesn’t invalidate its legitimate use cases.
4. “Bitcoin doesn’t scale.”
The Criticism: Bitcoin can only handle ~7 transactions per second (TPS). Visa does thousands.
The Response: Correct — Bitcoin’s base layer prioritizes security and decentralization over speed. But that’s where Layer 2 comes in.
- The Lightning Network, a Layer 2 protocol, enables millions of TPS at near-zero fees. It’s already being used in places like El Salvador for everyday transactions.
- Think of Bitcoin’s base layer like a digital gold vault, and Lightning like your debit card. Not every coffee purchase needs to be on the blockchain.
Scaling is being solved — just not in the same way as traditional systems.
5. “Bitcoin is too complicated for the average person.”
The Criticism: Wallets, keys, seed phrases — it’s too technical and intimidating for mainstream use.
The Response: Early internet adoption faced the same hurdle — remember typing http:// into Netscape? (Hmm… maybe some of you are too young to even remember Netscape in the 1990s.) The point is, today, we swipe and tap to navigate the web. Bitcoin is only about 16 years old, and its UX has come a long way:
- Apps like Strike, Cash App, and Phoenix offer intuitive interfaces.
- Custodial solutions exist for those who don’t want to manage private keys (though they come with trade-offs).
- Education is spreading. Just like learning to use email once felt hard, so too will Bitcoin literacy evolve.
Mainstream adoption is a design challenge, not a death sentence.
6. “Bitcoin has no intrinsic value.”
The Criticism: You can’t touch it, eat it, or wear it. It’s just numbers on a screen.
The Response: This criticism misunderstands the idea of value.
- The U.S. dollar has no intrinsic value either — it’s backed by trust, not gold.
- Bitcoin’s value comes from scarcity (only 21 million), decentralization, security, and utility as an uncensorable money.
- Its open, borderless nature gives it unique properties compared to any traditional asset or currency.
Value is subjective. People assign value to things that solve real problems. Bitcoin does exactly that for many around the world.
7. “Bitcoin is controlled by a few big players (whales).”
The Criticism: Early adopters hold most of the coins, creating inequality and potential for market manipulation.
The Response: It’s true that some large wallets hold significant amounts of Bitcoin. But:
- Many “whale” addresses belong to exchanges, holding Bitcoin on behalf of millions of users.
- On-chain data shows that Bitcoin’s distribution is gradually becoming more decentralized.
- Unlike fiat systems, Bitcoin’s ledger is transparent. You can literally verify who holds what.
Inequality isn’t unique to Bitcoin — it reflects broader socioeconomic systems. But at least in Bitcoin, everyone plays by the same open rules.
8. “Governments will ban it.”
The Criticism: Bitcoin threatens central banks and sovereign control. Eventually, governments will outlaw it.
The Response: Some have tried (China), but Bitcoin has proven remarkably resilient.
- In liberal democracies, banning Bitcoin is legally and technically difficult.
- In the U.S., Bitcoin is increasingly embraced — by senators, mayors, and even Wall Street firms like BlackRock and Fidelity.
- Countries like El Salvador have made Bitcoin legal tender.
Like the internet, governments may regulate Bitcoin — but outright bans tend to backfire, push innovation elsewhere, or simply don’t work.
9. “Bitcoin isn’t backed by anything.”
The Criticism: It’s not tied to gold, oil, or any real-world asset.
The Response: Neither is the dollar. Nor are most national currencies since Nixon closed the gold window in 1971. Bitcoin is backed by:
- Mathematics and cryptography
- A decentralized network of miners and nodes
- The belief and trust of millions globally
It’s a new kind of money — one where the guarantee is code, not governments.
10. “Bitcoin is just a bubble.”
The Criticism: It’s another tulip mania. Eventually, the hype will die and people will be left holding the bag.
The Response: Bitcoin has gone through multiple bubbles and crashes — and each time, it comes back stronger.
- 2011: from $1 to $31, then crashed to $2
- 2013: from $13 to $1,000, then down to $666
- 2017: from $1,044 to $17,600, then down to $7,700 by early 2018
- 2021: from $34,000 to %63,000, then down again to $30,000 …
But in the long arc, adoption keeps growing: more wallets, more infrastructure, more recognition. Bubbles are part of how new technologies find fair value. If anything, Bitcoin is behaving like every major disruptive innovation before it.
Bitcoin is not perfect, nothing truly innovative ever is.
Criticisms are vital — they help sharpen the tools and improve the system. Whether Bitcoin becomes a global reserve asset or simply a niche store of value, understanding it deeply requires more than memes and careless headlines. If you’re skeptical, stay curious. If you’re a believer, stay humble. And if you’re somewhere in the middle — welcome. That’s where the most interesting conversations happen.