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Eric Balchunas is a top analyst who regularly shares his views on the crypto market with the outside world. This ETF expert at Bloomberg has over 383,000 followers on X and an enormous reach in the finance and crypto industries.
A new analysis from Balchunas is guaranteed to get a lot of attention. He recently compared bitcoin to the tulip mania of the seventeenth century. Are there similarities between crypto and the Dutch hype from the Golden Age, or is it complete nonsense?
What Was the Tulip Mania? #
The tulip mania is one of the strangest episodes in Dutch financial history. Almost four hundred years ago, tulip bulbs arrived in the Netherlands as an exotic import from Turkey. From 1634, they evolved into a status symbol of luxury and wealth. The frenzy struck among wealthy merchants, and in 1636, the hype reached its peak.
For some rare bulbs, people paid more than for a canal house in Amsterdam. But in 1637, the lights went out. Within a few weeks, prices plummeted by more than 90 percent. Many investors were left penniless, richer only for an illusion.
Will Bitcoin Meet the Same Fate? #
Is bitcoin awaiting the same fate as the tulip mania? Some financial experts think so. “Bitcoin is worse than the tulip mania,” said Nout Wellink, former president of De Nederlandsche Bank, in late 2013. That statement is now twelve years old. Meanwhile, bitcoin is no longer worth $750, but $88,000.
The cryptocurrency has survived enormous peaks and deep troughs throughout its existence. BTC is able to recover from huge setbacks, which makes it very different from the Dutch tulip mania of almost 400 years ago. Balchunas shared a comparison on X to substantiate this:
Here’s why I personally would not compare bitcoin to tulips (no matter how bad the selloff). Tulips rose and collapsed in like 3yrs. Punched once in face and KO’d. Bitcoin has comeback from like 6-7 haymakers to reach ATHs and has survived 17yrs. The endurance alone warrants… — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 6, 2025
Bitcoin vs. Tulip Mania: A Comparison for the Trash Can #
The comparison between bitcoin and the tulip mania makes no sense anymore, according to the ETF expert. The tulip craze lasted for three years, took one punch, and then collapsed like a house of cards. Bitcoin has already taken at least six haymakers and still tapped new all-time highs.
After surviving for 17 years, that tulip comparison can go in the trash, writes Balchunas. Bitcoin is 250 percent higher than it was three years ago, and last year the value of the cryptocurrency increased by 122 percent.
Why Investors Keep Comparing #
Despite the above figures, some people still compare bitcoin and the tulip mania. Less than a month ago, top investor Michael Burry called bitcoin the ‘tulip bulb’ of our time. According to the ETF expert, the reason that comparison is still circulating is mainly due to one thing:
Some people just have a dislike for this asset and find it especially fun to provoke bitcoin fans. That’s probably never going to change.
Balchunas points to bitcoin’s long-term yearly average. This is the average price level that bitcoin records per year, measured over a longer period. According to him, BTC is still fluctuating around 50 percent of that average, and the market is currently cooling down after an extreme year.
A cooling-off period after a sharp price increase is quite normal, according to the Bloomberg analyst. Stocks do exactly the same after a strong rally. He believes people are over-analyzing dips, as if something is fundamentally wrong right away.
Bitcoin’s Productivity: ‘A Different Beast’ #
Balchunas also disputes the idea that bitcoin is ‘unproductive.’ Profit only comes when you sell later at a higher price. But that applies just as much to gold, art, and rare collectibles. And almost no one sticks the ‘tulip mania’ label on those.
According to the ETF expert, the value of bitcoin lies precisely in scarcity and demand. People want to own this cryptocurrency, which makes it interesting. This fundamentally distinguishes bitcoin from tulips. The tulip mania had one peak and then a hard implosion. Bitcoin has been around for seventeen years, takes hits, recovers, and sets new records again and again. Bitcoin is therefore a ‘different beast,’ according to Balchunas.