In the world of decentralization, Bitcoin has made a grand comeback, with its value skyrocketing to a whopping $73,000. Not just the OG cryptocurrency, but others like Ethereum and the meme-favorite Dogecoin are enjoying their share of the limelight, propelling the market’s worth over the $2.7 trillion mark for the first time in years. But guess what? You might have missed the memo, considering the buzz isn’t as loud as before. No more chatter about which digital coin will hit the jackpot next or queries about when you’ll be able to buy that Lamborghini. The world’s obsession seems to have dialed down a notch, at least for now.

在去中心化的世界裡，比特幣捲土重來，其價值飆升至 73,000 美元。不僅是 OG 加密貨幣，以太幣和最受歡迎的狗狗幣等其他加密貨幣也受到了人們的關注，推動市場價值多年來首次突破 2.7 兆美元大關。但猜猜怎麼了？考慮到嗡嗡聲不像以前那麼響亮，你可能錯過了這份備忘錄。不再討論下一個會中大獎的數位硬幣，也不再詢問何時可以購買蘭博基尼。全世界的迷戀似乎已經減弱了一個檔次，至少目前是這樣。

The Unexpected Rise

Crypto’s resurgence in 2024 paints a rather muted picture compared to the frenzied rallies of the past. Gone are the days of ICO madness or the NFT craze. This time, the surge seems to be riding on more mundane factors like the upcoming “halving” event, which will slash the bitcoin mining reward by half, whispers of dropping interest rates, and a significant influx of institutional money into bitcoin ETFs, thanks to the green light from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

與過去的瘋狂反彈相比，加密貨幣在 2024 年的意外崛起描繪了一幅相當平靜的景象。 ICO 瘋狂或 NFT 熱潮的日子已經一去不復返了。這一次，比特幣的飆升似乎是基於更平常的因素，例如即將到來的「減半」事件，這將使比特幣挖礦獎勵減少一半，利率下降的傳言，以及機構資金大量湧入比特幣ETF ，這要歸功於美國證券交易委員會的批准。

BlackRock, the titan of asset management, didn’t just enter the crypto space; it bulldozed its way through, with its ETF quickly becoming a behemoth in the arena. Major banks are also queuing up to dip their toes in the Bitcoin pool, seemingly forgetting the bitter lessons of the past financial crisis. This newfound embrace by the traditional finance sector has turned heads within the crypto community. Bitcoin, after all, was birthed with the vision of bypassing these very institutions, offering a decentralized, censorship-resistant alternative to the conventional financial system.

資產管理巨頭貝萊德不僅進入了加密貨幣領域，還涉足了加密貨幣領域。它一路高歌猛進，其 ETF 迅速成為競技場上的龐然大物。各大銀行也在排隊試水比特幣池，似乎忘了過去金融危機的慘痛教訓。傳統金融業的這種新的擁抱已經引起了加密貨幣社群的關注。畢竟，比特幣的誕生就是為了繞過這些機構，為傳統金融體系提供去中心化、抗審查的替代方案。

The Paradox of Adoption

Yet, the bitcoin faithful aren’t crying foul. On the contrary, they’re all for institutional FOMO, with predictions of bitcoin hitting the $100k milestone sooner rather than later. The sentiment is clear: the more, the merrier. Having bigwigs like BlackRock’s CEO onside is seen as a boon, aligning everyone’s interests under the bitcoin banner. But let’s not kid ourselves. Institutional investors aren’t in this for the revolution. They see bitcoin as another avenue for profit, not as the future of finance. And while they might flirt with the idea of an Ethereum ETF, their core motives remain as traditional as ever.

採用的悖論然而，比特幣的忠實信徒並沒有大喊大叫。相反，他們都支援機構 FOMO，預測比特幣遲早會達到 10 萬美元的里程碑。情感很明確：越多越好。有像貝萊德執行長這樣的大人物在場被視為一種福音，可以將每個人的利益統一在比特幣的旗幟下。但我們不要自欺欺人。機構投資人並不是為了這場革命而參與其中。他們將比特幣視為另一種獲利途徑，而不是金融的未來。儘管他們可能會對以太坊 ETF 的想法感興趣，但他們的核心動機仍然一如既往地傳統。

This marriage of convenience between crypto and traditional finance (TradFi) highlights a glaring hypocrisy. Crypto’s acceptance of institutional players and vice versa does not signal a newfound respect or understanding between the two worlds. Instead, it underscores a shared greed, an insatiable hunger for more, regardless of the means. The introduction of bitcoin ETFs has blurred the lines between two supposedly distinct financial realms, proving that the lessons of the financial crisis have been ignored. Both spheres, it turns out, are not so different after all, driven by the same old greed.

加密貨幣與傳統金融（TradFi）之間的這種便利結合凸顯了明顯的虛偽。加密貨幣對機構參與者的接受，反之亦然，並不意味著兩個世界之間出現了新的尊重或理解。相反，它強調了一種共同的貪婪，一種無論手段如何都對更多的永不滿足的渴望。比特幣 ETF 的推出模糊了兩個本應截然不同的金融領域之間的界限，證明金融危機的教訓被忽視了。事實證明，這兩個領域畢竟並沒有那麼不同，都是由同樣古老的貪婪所驅動的。

And there lies the rub, the shared flaw of both centralization and decentralization: greed. It’s the Achilles’ heel that undermines the ideals and promises each system claims to uphold. For all its talk of disrupting and democratizing finance, crypto, when bedded with traditional finance, reveals a willingness to compromise its principles for profit. Similarly, TradFi’s embrace of crypto, despite its past skepticism and caution, shows a readiness to abandon lessons learned from past disasters at the altar of potential gains.

這就是中心化和去中心化的共同缺陷：貪婪。這是破壞每個系統聲稱要維護的理想和承諾的致命弱點。儘管加密貨幣一直在談論顛覆金融並使金融民主化，但當與傳統金融結合在一起時，加密貨幣顯示出為了利潤而犧牲其原則的意願。同樣，儘管 TradFi 過去持懷疑態度和謹慎態度，但它對加密貨幣的擁抱表明，它準備放棄從過去災難中學到的教訓，以追求潛在收益。

This convergence of interests might seem like a victory for bitcoin proponents, yet it raises critical questions about the future of finance. Are we merely repackaging old vices in new wrappers? Is the revolutionary potential of cryptocurrencies being diluted as they become just another asset class in the portfolios of the very institutions they sought to challenge?

這種利益的融合對於比特幣支持者來說似乎是一場勝利，但它提出了金融未來的關鍵問題。我們只是用新包裝重新包裝舊的惡習嗎？當加密貨幣成為他們試圖挑戰的機構投資組合中的另一個資產類別時，加密貨幣的革命潛力是否會被稀釋？