Bitcoin’s Rug Pull: A Tale of Two Values

In the annals of financial discourse, few spectacles rival the quixotic endeavors of modern speculation. Behold, dear reader, the tale of David Stockman, former U.S. budget director and self-proclaimed arbiter of fiscal virtue, who has cast his gaze upon the cryptocurrency Bitcoin with the disdain of a man witnessing a grand illusion unravel. Once soaring to heights of $125,000, the digital asset now languishes in the $60,000s-a cataclysmic descent that has stirred Stockman’s ire. To him, this is no mere fluctuation, but a “rug pull,” a term evoking the treachery of a thief who snatches one’s purse while feigning camaraderie.

O, ye of little faith! What manner of “store of value” is this, if it falters so readily? A 48% plunge in four months, and yet the adherents of Bitcoin clasp their hands in fervor, declaring, “Diamond Hands!” A speculative asset, indeed! Yet real money, as we know, is a wholly different kettle of fish-more steadfast, less prone to the whims of madmen.

– David Stockman (@DA_Stockman) February 23, 2026

For Stockman, a man whose allegiance lies with the austere principles of fiscal conservatism, this episode is but the latest in a long line of excesses born of post-2008 liquidity cycles. These cycles, he argues, have sown the seeds of speculative manias, detached from the tangible realities of cash flows and economic substance. One might say he views Bitcoin not as a beacon of progress, but as a mirage, luring the desperate with promises of wealth while vanishing into the sands of time.

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Is Bitcoin “store of value” or “rug pull?”

The “rug pull” label, though provocative, is not novel in the realm of crypto discourse. It echoes the lamentations of yore, when bear markets of 2018 and 2022 saw similar tempests, with drawdowns exceeding 70% before the tides turned. Yet, as with all such storms, the faithful remain undeterred, clinging to their beliefs as though they were the last remnants of a lost civilization.

Indeed, the detractors of Bitcoin, such as the venerable Stockman, find themselves met with the spirited rebuttals of market participants. Yet these counterarguments, while spirited, do not dispute the arithmetic of the decline. On-chain analyst Willy Woo, ever the advocate, cites the historical tribulations of gilded galleons-Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, and Meta-each of which has weathered storms of 60% to 90% drawdowns before rising again. “Volatility,” he posits, “is but the price of entry in the grand theater of finance.”

Another voice, that of investor Lawrence Lepard, offers a more hopeful refrain. To him, Bitcoin remains in its infancy, a fledgling phoenix poised to outshine the ancient relic of gold. The current market, he insists, is but a transitional phase-a storm that will pass, leaving behind a landscape reshaped by the winds of adoption.

And so, the debate rages on, a tale as old as time: the clash between skepticism and ambition, between the caution of the past and the promise of the future. Whether Bitcoin is a store of value or a rug pull, only the sands of time shall reveal.

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2026-02-24 16:13