Bitcoin was the first digital currency that aimed to eliminate the need for central financial authorities, such as banks or governments. It’s been on a wild ride since it was originally created in 2009 and has been called many things since then: the future of money, a scam and a bubble waiting to pop. And even though bitcoin has survived multiple crashes and skeptics have been praying for its downfall for almost two decades, bitcoin is still standing.
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But could it eventually go to zero?
Here’s what would have to happen for bitcoin’s value to disappear completely and what’s currently holding it up.
For bitcoin’s value to drop all the way down to zero — from its over $80,000 as of March 11 — it would need to lose its fundamental value drivers. Here are some scenarios that could send it into oblivion.
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Bitcoin has faced quite a few regulatory crackdowns in countries like China, where mining and transactions were banned. For example, in 2021, bitcoin’s price dropped by almost 30% after a Chinese government crackdown on banks’ use of cryptocurrencies.
So, if for some reason, major economies like the U.S. or the EU implement a ban on bitcoin to make it illegal to use, trade or hold, demand would plummet.
Bitcoin mining consumes an enormous amount of electricity. According to Crypto.com, one bitcoin transaction consumes 851.77 kWh of energy on average, which is the equivalent of around one month of electricity for the average U.S. household.
If energy costs skyrocket or governments impose severe restrictions on mining due to environmental concerns, bitcoin’s network security could weaken. A drop in mining power could then make the network more vulnerable to attacks, which would scare investors away.
If people stop believing in bitcoin, whether that’s due to a major scandal or market manipulation, it could start to lose value. Because, unlike stocks, bitcoin itself doesn’t generate cash flow or have intrinsic value beyond what people believe it’s worth. This means that if investor confidence disappears, so will its value.
Despite the risks, bitcoin is still worth over $1.6 trillion in total as of March 2025. Here’s why people continue to believe in it.
