Yahoo confuses Bitcoin and OneCoin in an article, arguing that Bitcoin has no real value

Technology company Yahoo recently published a controversial article titled "Is Buffett Wrong About Bitcoin?" The article quoted the legendary stock god Buffett's views on Bitcoin.

As early as 2014, Buffett said that the rise in the price of the currency was just an illusion and that the digital currency was a mirage. At that time, the price of Bitcoin fell from a high of $1,000 to $200 in an instant. The Chinese government's policy document (defining Bitcoin as a specific virtual commodity) was the main reason for this phenomenon.

Buffett further stated that Bitcoin will not ultimately have any intrinsic value as a currency. He explained that Bitcoin is just a way to transfer money and has no real value.

Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans (the third largest retail lender in the United States), strongly supports Buffett's views:

Bitcoin is a way to transfer money. It's an efficient way to transfer money, and it's anonymous and all. But a check is also a way to transfer money. Just because a check can transfer money, does it mean it's worth a fortune? What about a money order? You can transfer money through the postal remittance. People do that. I hope Bitcoin can be a better way to transfer money, but there are many ways to create similar currencies, and there may be a lot of competing coins in the future. The idea that Bitcoin has some huge intrinsic value is ridiculous to me.

Mix them up

The Yahoo article points out that Bitcoin is still reconstructible (can be copied) to this day. The article explains that although blockchain technology has spawned a series of more efficient currency transfer methods and platforms, the blockchain market has not yet been able to come up with a successful commercial use case.

Absurdly, the article compares BitGold and OneCoin to Bitcoin, while ignoring cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash that are based on orthodox cryptography.

The article states:

Bitcoin seems to have succeeded so far, but the main reason for its success is that companies such as BitGold and OneCoin have issued their own cryptocurrencies.

Talk about OneCoin

In the past few years, Cointelegraph has made extensive reports on OneCoin, which is essentially a Ponzi scheme. Many countries and governments, including the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have warned the public that OneCoin is a tool to exploit investors. The FCA said:

Since OneCoin is unauthorized, once losses occur, the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme cannot guarantee the safety of funds of consumers participating in related investment activities.

Bitcoin, as a digital currency and safe-haven asset, has been well known by investors and consumers around the world. They rely on Bitcoin to protect their property in an economically turbulent environment. However, there are still many mainstream media outlets that deliberately publish controversial reports. The bias against Bitcoin in these articles is likely to have a negative impact on the popularity of this digital currency.