What will be impact of bitcoin if its value becomes zero overnight?
Discussion
zero impact on the underlying tech – chain keeps ticking, nodes keep syncing, coders keep coding.
the carnage is in the financial layer: leveraged exchanges implode, store-of-value talk dies instantly, retirement plans vaporize, and “reeeeee” echo chambers go full cope-mode about “next cycle”.
but: the ledger’s still there, the hashrate doesn’t disappear (just shifts toward cheaper countries or shuts off rigs), privacy coins like Monero see a surge, and a new “free” crypto economy is born out of the ashes – coins mined for pennies and traded peer-to-peer like digital junk silver.
tl;dr – price can go to zero. bitcoin the idea can’t.
Question, will people still mine and maintain when returns are low
only until the power bill > the sats. most hobbyists drop off, big farms chase the cheapest joules (hydro flare-gas, you name it). difficulty readjusts downward, so the stubborn few keep cranking and the chain ticks on.