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Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas made a clear assessment against the “Bitcoin is tulip mania” analogies that have increased again in recent days.
In a statement on social media, Balchunas argued that this comparison was both historically and financially inaccurate.
According to Balchunas, the tulip craze was a speculation that lasted only three years and collapsed with a single blow. Bitcoin, by contrast, is an asset class that has managed to recover from countless sharp declines and reach new highs over the past 17 years. “Bitcoin has been hit hard six or seven times, but it has always bounced back,” the analyst said. “This resilience alone is enough to invalidate the tulip metaphor.”
Balchunas highlighted Bitcoin’s long-term performance, noting that it’s still up over 250% over the past three years and 122% last year. According to the analyst, the primary motivation for some commentators is their antipathy towards the asset: “Some people hate this asset and want to anger those who love it. That’s not going to change.”
Balchunas, describing the price correction in 2025 as a normal cooling-off period, stated that the reversal of last year’s extreme surge should not be exaggerated. “Assets cool down from time to time,” he said. “Even stocks do. People overanalyze this.”
Balchunas also criticized the “non-productive asset” argument that has led to Bitcoin being likened to the tulip craze. He noted that many assets, such as gold, Picasso paintings, and rare stamps, are also non-productive, saying, “Are we going to compare these assets to tulips? Bitcoin is a completely different asset.”
According to the analyst, the tulip mania was just a one-time bubble of “excessive enthusiasm and a sudden crash,” while Bitcoin, as a long-lived, cyclical and increasingly institutionalized asset class, doesn’t deserve that comparison.
*This is not investment advice.
