Bitcoin’s 10-year annualized return of ~200% masks the fragility of short-term extraction models that prioritize liquidity events over sustainable adoption. The current $82k price reflects a balance between speculative momentum and institutional adoption, but the underlying network’s security budget—propped up by halvings and fee markets—remains vulnerable to shortsighted fiscal policies or miner capitulation cycles. If the market continues to discount future productivity in favor of immediate yield, the very infrastructure securing Bitcoin’s scarcity narrative could erode over time, much like Gecko’s empire.