Bitcoin
Commencement Exercises Chaos! Drug-Induced Bitcoin Speech Gets Booed At Ohio State

Commencement speeches are supposed to be inspirational send-offs for graduating students, filled with wisdom and hope for the future. But at Ohio State University’s ceremony this past Sunday, the chosen speaker, Chris Pan, delivered a speech that left many scratching their heads and some downright booing.
Pan, a 1999 graduate and entrepreneur, ignited controversy by admitting on LinkedIn that he wrote the first draft of his speech under the influence of ayahuasca, a powerful psychedelic drug. This revelation was only the beginning of the unusual turn of events.
Bitcoin Takes Center Stage
While many expected Pan to impart conventional wisdom about navigating careers and life after graduation, his speech took a sharp turn towards the world of cryptocurrency. Pan, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin enthusiast, heavily promoted the digital currency as a hedge against inflation, urging graduates to invest.
This endorsement was met with audible boos from the audience, broadcasted live on the university’s livestream.
“Saving isn’t enough anymore,” Pan declared. “Inflation’s out of control, that’s why everything costs more! Bitcoin offers a misunderstood asset class. It’s decentralized and finite, meaning no government can just print more at will.”
Chris Pan, right, discusses Bitcoin in his commencement speech alongside Ohio State President Ted Carter. Photo credit: Ohio State University.
University Clarifies Stance On Bitcoin
Ohio State University was quick to distance itself from Pan’s Bitcoin advocacy. A university spokesperson declined to comment on the specific content but made it clear that they don’t approve commencement speeches beforehand.
The university’s official write-up of the ceremony conspicuously omitted any mention of cryptocurrency, focusing instead on Pan’s message of civility and social responsibility.
Bitcoin is now trading at $64.192. Chart: TradingView
Psychedelic Inspiration Or Publicity Stunt?
Pan’s use of ayahuasca to craft the speech added another layer of eccentricity to the situation. While some might dismiss it as a publicity stunt, others wondered about the impact of such mind-altering substances on the speech’s content.
Unorthodox Methods, Unconventional Message
Regardless of the inspiration, Pan’s core message about overcoming fear and embracing new mindsets resonated with some. He highlighted common barriers to investing – fear, laziness, and closed-mindedness – urging graduates to break free from these limitations.
Pan’s Diverse Background
Pan’s biography offers a glimpse into his unconventional approach. A self-described “social entrepreneur, musician, and inspirational speaker,” his career path has spanned prestigious firms like McKinsey & Company and PepsiCo, along with stints at Facebook and his current venture, MyIntent, a company that creates custom-message bracelets. This eclectic background might explain his willingness to break the mold with his commencement speech.
Lingering Questions
The fallout from Pan’s speech continues. Whether his use of ayahuasca was a genuine creative outlet or a publicity stunt remains unclear. The university’s attempt to distance itself from the Bitcoin promotion raises questions about the control they have over commencement speeches.
Ultimately, Chris Pan’s unorthodox commencement speech will likely be remembered more for the controversy it sparked than for any pearls of wisdom it offered.
Featured image from Shoshana Gordon/Axios, chart from TradingView
Bitcoin
Gold Keeps Outperforming Bitcoin Amid Trump’s Trade War Chaos

Bitcoin (BTC) has long been touted as “digital gold.” However, as the global economy reels from escalating trade war tensions under Trump’s second term, institutional investors are fleeing to the real thing.
A recent Bank of America (BofA) survey found that 58% of fund managers view gold as the best-performing haven in a trade war—leaving Bitcoin with only a 3% preference.
Bitcoin’s Haven Status Faces a Reality Check
Gold is proving its dominance as the crisis asset of choice while Bitcoin struggles to hold its ground. This comes amid rising geopolitical risks, the ballooning US deficit, and uncertainty driving capital flight.
“In a recent Bank of America survey, 58% of fund managers said gold performs best in a trade war. This compares to just 9% for 30-year Treasury Bonds and 3% for Bitcoin,” The Kobeissi Letter noted.

For years, Bitcoin advocates have championed it as a hedge against economic instability. Yet, in 2025’s volatile macro environment, Bitcoin struggles to earn institutional investors’ full trust.
The Bank of America survey reflects this status, with long-term US Treasury bonds and even the US dollar losing appeal as trade wars and fiscal dysfunction shake market confidence.
The US deficit crisis—now projected to exceed $1.8 trillion—has further eroded confidence in traditional safe havens like US Treasuries.
“This is what happens when the global reserve currency no longer behaves as the global reserve currency,” a trader quipped in a post.
However, instead of looking to Bitcoin as an alternative, institutions are overwhelmingly choosing gold, doubling physical gold purchases to record levels.

Barriers To Bitcoin Institutional Adoption
Despite its fixed supply and decentralization, Bitcoin’s short-term volatility remains a key barrier to institutional adoption as a true safe-haven asset.
While some traders still view Bitcoin as a long-term store of value, it lacks the immediate liquidity and risk-averse appeal that gold provides during crises.
Further, President Trump is expected to announce sweeping new tariffs on “Liberation Day.” Experts flag the event as a potential trigger for extreme market volatility.
“April 2nd is similar to election night. It is the biggest event of the year by an order of magnitude. 10x more important than any FOMC, which is a lot. And anything can happen, “Alex Krüger predicted.
Trade tensions have historically driven capital into safe-haven assets. With this announcement looming, investors preemptively position themselves again, favoring gold over Bitcoin.
“Gold’s no longer just a hedge against inflation; it’s being treated as the hedge against everything: geopolitical risk, de-globalization, fiscal dysfunction, and now, weaponized trade. When 58% of fund managers say gold is the top performer in a trade war, that’s not just sentiment that’s allocation flow. When even long bonds and the dollar take a back seat, it’s a signal: the old playbook is being rewritten. In a world of rising tariffs, FX tension, and twin deficits, gold might be the only politically neutral store of value left,” trader Billy AU observed.
Despite Bitcoin’s struggle to capture institutional safe-haven flows in 2025, its long-term narrative remains intact.
Specifically, the global reserve currency system is changing, US debt concerns are mounting, and monetary policies continue to shift. Despite all these, Bitcoin’s value proposition as a censorship-resistant, borderless asset is still relevant.
However, in the short term, its volatility and lack of widespread institutional adoption as a crisis hedge mean gold is taking the lead.
For Bitcoin believers, the key question is not whether Bitcoin will one day challenge gold but how long institutions will adopt it as a flight-to-safety asset.
Until then, gold remains the undisputed king in times of economic turmoil. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC exchange-traded funds notwithstanding) fights to prove its place in the next financial paradigm shift.
“The ETF demand was real, but some of it was purely for arbitrage…There was a genuine demand for owning BTC, just not as much as we were led to believe,” analyst Kyle Chassé said recently.
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Bitcoin
Why Bitcoin Seasoned Investors Are Accumulating — Analyst Evaluates BTC’s Current Phase


The cryptocurrency market has not had a clear direction in 2025, reflecting the uncertain condition of the digital asset industry. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently 24% away from its record-high price of $108,786 reached in January 2025.
With the premier cryptocurrency steadily drifting away from its all-time high, there have been questions about what phase of the cycle the market is currently in. Interestingly, recent on-chain data offers some insight into the current state of the Bitcoin market and the reaction of the participants.
Are Seasoned BTC Investors Anticipating A Price Surge?
In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, analyst Axel Adler Jr. shared an analysis of the current Bitcoin cycle, offering insight into the behavior of an important group of investors. According to the online pundit, seasoned BTC players are back to accumulating the flagship cryptocurrency.
Adler Jr. revealed that the experienced BTC investors have been involved in four phases of accumulation (January 2023, October 2023, October 2024, March 2025) in the current cycle. On the flip side, the selling activity of these market participants has reached four distinct peaks, including January 2024, April 2024, July 2024, and January 2025.
The relevant on-chain indicator here is the Value Days Destroyed (VDD) metric, which tracks the spending behaviour of long-term investors. The chart below shows that the VDD metric has been steadily declining since the start of 2025.
Source: CryptoQuant
Using the chart as a basis, Adler Jr. mentioned that three major features define the current phase of the Bitcoin cycle. Firstly, the seasoned investors, who were actively distributing their BTC at local peaks, have now shifted their strategy toward holding and accumulating their coins.
Additionally, the Value Days Destroyed metric suggests an absence of significant selling pressure, which means that the experienced traders are skeptical about profit at the current Bitcoin price. Moreover, periods of low VDD values have historically preceded significant upward price movements, as investors accumulate in anticipation of a price surge.
Ultimately, this positive shift in the behavior of seasoned Bitcoin holders suggests that there might be room for further price growth for Bitcoin in the medium term.
Bitcoin Price At A Glance
As of this writing, the price of BTC sits at around $83,200, with an over 2% decline in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the flagship cryptocurrency is also down by about 2% on the weekly timeframe.
BTC price reclaims $83,000 level on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image created by DALL-E, chart from TradingView

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Bitcoin
8,000 Dormant Bitcoin Suddenly Move: What’s Next For The Market?

Popular CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn reports that 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) which have been dormant for five to seven years have been moved suddenly, adding to current bearish concerns in the crypto. This development comes after a rather adventurous week as BTC prices struggled to break above $89,000, following an initial steady bullish climb, before succumbing to heavy selling pressures driven by US President Donald Trump’s hawkish tariff policy.
$674 Million In Old BTC Transfers In Single Block – Cause For Alarm?
The Spent Output Age Bands is a crucial metric to measure how long Bitcoin tokens remain inactive before moving. According to Maartuun in an X post, this metric has recently revealed that 8,000 BTC worth $674 million that was last transferred between 2018 and 2020 have been moved recently in a single block drawing significant market attention.
This transfer follows a string of recent activations of dormant Bitcoin stashes. On March 24, a 14-year inactive Bitcoin wallet suddenly moved 100 Bitcoin valued at $8.5 million. Meanwhile, in early March, six ancient Bitcoin wallets also transferred nearly 250 BTC worth $22 million.
Notably, the most recent transaction reported by Maartuun is of far larger size with potentially strong implications for an uncertain Bitcoin market. Generally, a movement of such a large amount of BTC from long-term dormancy is usually interpreted as a signal for incoming selling pressure leading to major price corrections.
However, there are other potential non-bearish motives behind such transactions such as internal wallet shuffling by institutional investors or large holders as well as a cold storage reorganization. Currently, the owners of the new wallets receiving the 8000 is unknown thus reducing the potential of a bearish reaction from BTC holders.
Bitcoin Price Overview
In the last day, Bitcoin prices declined by 4.00% after the US Government announced intentions to impose a 25% tariff on auto imports and goods from China, Mexico, and Canada starting from April 3. This marks the latest negative reaction of the crypto market to President Trump’s international trade policies following similar incidents in early February and mid-March.
These measures by the Donald Trump administration are flaming fears of a potential economic slowdown which could further push high-risk assets such as BTC out of investors’ portfolios leading to a further downside.
At press time, Bitcoin currently trades at $83,693 reflecting a decline of 0.72% and 2.53% in the last seven and 30 days respectively. Meanwhile, the asset’s daily trading volume is up by 19.38% and is valued at $31.58 billion. The BTC market cap now stands at $1.66 trillion and still represents a dominant 61.1% of the total crypto market.
BTC trading at $83,727 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSDT chart on Tradingview.com
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