“It’s the story of a man who is falling from a 50-storey building. At each floor, as he falls, he comforts himself by repeating: jusqu’ici tout va bien [so far, so good], jusqu’ici tout va bien, jusqu’ici tout va bien.”
So starts the brilliant 1995 French cult classic La Haine. Those words, that image, have somehow seared themselves into my consciousness for life. They soothe me when I’m feeling anxious or having imposter worries. They suggest that, given I seem to have got away with it so far, maybe I’ll keep on getting away with it.
And jusqu’ici, the shills and shamans of bitcoinland have been getting away with it too. Sure, sure, bitcoin might have had a couple of dozen substantial crashes, a few hundred crypto companies might have gone bust, untold numbers of people might have lost their life savings, but every time bitcoin falls, it has always bounced back. Those who can afford it manage to cling on (it’s the people who can’t who are wiped out), and the cognitive muscle memory they acquire on each rebound leads them to believe their hallowed crypto coin is going to live forever.