The leading cryptocurrency has been in a clear decline lately, with the downturn intensifying over the past 24 hours as the price briefly tumbled below $60,000 for the second time this month.

As expected, the latest pullback has prompted a wave of doomsday predictions, with some claiming that bitcoin is “going to zero.” The popular American businessman and media personality, Dave Portnoy, floated the idea, but numerous industry participants dismissed the grim scenario.

‘The Bitcoin Journey is a Hero’s Journey’

The founder and CEO of Barstool Sports created a heated debate on X with his post. Several hours ago, he urged “all the bitcoin and crypto people who say it’s going to a million and how it’s the future” to convince him that the digital asset is not a scam and not headed toward rock bottom at $0.

“Cause it seems like it’s going to zero,” he added.

What followed was a massive wave of support toward BTC and its fundamentals, along with accusations that Portnoy simply speaks of things he doesn’t understand. One of the prominent people presenting strong arguments in favor of the cryptocurrency was Jack Mallers. The founder and CEO of Strike reminded that over the past 13 years, BTC has been the subject of such forecasts numerous times, especially after catastrophic events like Mt. Gox’s crisis and FTX’s meltdown.

Yet somehow, BTC is still around with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion, Mallers noted. He said the asset has been “the best thing I could have poured my life into over the last 13+ years.” Mallers then moved on to give Portnoy important advice:

“The Bitcoin journey is a hero’s journey. You kill your ego. You surrender the idea that you’re the all-knower of the future, the main character, and important enough to matter to this thing. Bitcoin doesn’t care what you think, and it doesn’t need your permission. You either have the balls to build conviction in it, or you don’t.”

Last but not least, Mallers challenged Portnoy to sell his BTC if he believes in the government and its ability “to not print away” people’s purchasing power.

Altcoin Daily also joined the discussion. The X user described BTC as “a global gold 2.0” that people can “actually own, send globally, and hold without a bank, CEO, or government changing the rules.”

“You know value and price are not the same thing. The internet crashed, too. It still changed the world,” they added.

Historically, BTC cycle bottoms have coincided with peak pessimism, when numerous people declared the asset dead or insisted that “it’s going to zero.” Some of the commentators on Portnoy’s post outlined that parallel, arguing that the market floor might be near.

Shift Focus From BTC

Portnoy has long stirred controversy with his Bitcoin takes, initially calling the asset a “Ponzi scheme.” He then softened his tone and withdrew his scam claims.

He also has experience in the meme coin sector, launching tokens such as GREED, GREED2, and JAILSTOOL, which experienced massive price volatility and severe crashes. Several X users reminded him of those efforts, predicting that BTC will recover sooner or later, but the dubious coins he once shilled are unlikely to rise from the dead.

Source: CryptoPotato