In October 2019, an anonymous blog post began circulating online, claiming to be a warning from the future. The writer, who claimed to have traveled from the year 2025, painted a haunting picture of what the world would look like if Bitcoin reigned supreme. It wasn’t the usual praise or speculation about Bitcoin's potential; this was a tale of doom. And yet, as shocking as it was, the post captivated readers, who couldn’t help but wonder – was there a grain of truth in this stranger's message?

The story went like this: Bitcoin had become so valuable by 2025 that it was almost beyond price. The writer shared what could be called "price checkpoints" along the way, where Bitcoin's value soared from $1 in 2011 to $10,000 in 2017 and then, in this dark future, a staggering $1 million by 2021. But beyond these dizzying numbers, the author revealed that money as we knew it was already obsolete. Land and Bitcoin were the only things that mattered. Governments, powerless to tax anonymous Bitcoin transactions, were crumbling as they lost control of their economies. Bitcoin, it seemed, had dethroned them.

In this future, most people owned less than a thousandth of a Bitcoin. But that small portion was valuable enough that “earlies” – the name for early Bitcoin adopters – had the means to separate themselves from the world. They had fled society, creating exclusive, fortified cities called Citadels, guarded by high-tech security and automated drones. Here, wealth protected itself, hidden away from the chaos outside. The world had become a dystopia of wealth inequality that rivaled even the bleakest of sci-fi predictions.

The post warned of a profound environmental impact as well. The writer claimed Bitcoin was eating up an unimaginable amount of electricity to sustain itself, leaving behind a carbon footprint as vast as entire countries. What we had once celebrated as a financial revolution had become an ecological disaster. It wasn’t just a currency, the writer warned; it was a "negative-sum game" that leaked money and, more worryingly, drew out the earth’s remaining energy. If that wasn't unsettling enough, the writer went on to describe a society where Bitcoin transactions enabled people to dodge all traditional government regulations. Global financial systems had twisted, he claimed, into something unrecognizable, ruled by shadows and anonymous transactions.

As terrifying as the story sounded, readers soon noticed discrepancies in these predictions as time moved forward. By 2024, Bitcoin had indeed grown – reaching just over $80,000 at its peak – but it hadn’t soared to the astronomical heights of $1 million. The Citadels remained pure fiction, as Bitcoin users continued to live among everyone else, not holed up in fortified cities. And governments? They hadn’t disappeared. On the contrary, governments around the world were stepping up to regulate crypto with tax policies and new laws, determined to control its rise.

The environmental concerns, though, did hit close to home. Bitcoin mining had grown massively energy-intensive. But the industry had started adapting, with an increasing number of mining farms turning to renewable energy sources. Far from becoming a universal ecological threat, Bitcoin mining was evolving to reduce its footprint, a direct response to rising criticisms. It was as if the story’s warning had reached the right ears in time.

But the most fascinating twist in this tale is that, while the blogger’s dark predictions didn’t all pan out, the post had managed to tap into real concerns that society still wrestles with today. Financial inclusion has increased as cryptocurrencies have given millions access to banking and investment. While Citadels haven’t popped up, Bitcoin has undeniably created wealth opportunities, changing lives globally. What the time-traveler didn’t predict was that governments would adapt to the new financial landscape, tightening regulations and finding ways to work with, rather than be destroyed by, cryptocurrency.

Despite its inaccuracies, the blog was a powerful reminder. It dared us to imagine a world where technology takes the reins without regulation or responsibility, a place where unchecked greed and power can overshadow our common good. As of now, the post reads like a thrilling, haunting cautionary tale rather than prophecy. Yet, the blogger’s apocalyptic vision had a strange, unintended effect: it prompted people to think about the world they wanted to build, with or without Bitcoin in it.