January 5, 2021

Where Are the Bitcoin Billionaires?

Bitcoin continues its spectacular 3-month surge:

I don’t get it, but then, there are lots of things I don’t get. I suppose that old stamps and impressionist paintings don’t have any intrinsic value either, aside from the fact that lots of people want them, so why not bitcoin? But what I still want to know is something simple: if I own a bitcoin, can I sell it easily and pocket my $34,131? Has anyone become rich doing that? That is, selling a big stock of bitcoin for actual American dollars (not ether or tether or some other blockchain bullshit) and then retiring to the Bahamas? For some reason I never hear about that.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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