'The Black Swan' Author Gives A 'Ruined Gambler' Analogy As Panic Strikes Bitcoin Investors Amid Crash

“The Black Swan” author Nassim Nicholas Taleb has taken a dig at Bitcoin BTC/USD holders after the prices of major cryptocurrencies tumbled on Thursday night.

What Happened: Taleb, a former options trader, risk analyst and author, noted on Twitter that some Bitcoin investors reminded him of a “ruined gambler” who has just realized he lost his car key while standing outside the casino at midnight.

Tonight, some investors in #BTC remind me of a ruined gambler who, standing outside the casino at midnight, just realizes he lost the keys to his car.

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) January 21, 2022

Some Bitcoin supporters did not take kindly to his comments.

One Twitter user said that the fall in Bitcoin’s price did not scare him and investors in the cryptocurrency were “anti-fragile.”

We are anti-fragile. This doesn’t scare me maestro

— The Bitcoin Shaykh (@BitcoinShaykh) January 21, 2022

Another Bitcoin supported found Taleb’s comments to be “a bit in poor taste.”

I remember when you said in Black Swan how it was always a problem that people take credit for their success but chalk up failure to bad luck. So I find it a bit in poor taste that you "gloat" when BTC is down but dismiss it when it's rolling higher than ever.

— J. Rolf Haltza (@RolfHaltza) January 21, 2022

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

Why It Matters: Taleb, who once believed Bitcoin was a promising new currency as it was without government control, has recently taken to bashing the apex cryptocurrency.

In a paper published on his website in June, Taleb explained why he believes Bitcoin is worth “exactly 0.”

Bitcoin — the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization — has fallen below the $40,000 mark as of Thursday night and is down more than 43% from it’s all-time high of $68,789.63 touched in November last year.

Price Action: Bitcoin is down 7.3% during the past 24 hours, trading at $38,914.40 at press time.

Read Next: Bitcoin Slips Below Crucial $40K Level, Taking Ethereum, Dogecoin Down With It: US Treasuries, Russia, Outflows And More That's Weighing

Photo: Courtesy of Salzburg Global Summit via Flickr