Mark Cuban, the famous billionaire investor, owner of NBA's Dallas Mavericks and one of the judges on the renowned show Shark Tank has rattled many Bitcoin proponents with his recent rants. Cuban's outburst on Bitcoin has puzzled many given he was not always like that, and have publically asked people to invest in it during the bull run in December 2017. Thus, many in the decentralized space are miffed with Cuban's double standard giving rise to speculations that there might be a motive behind it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Since everyone keeps talking bout it... here’s Mark Cuban talkin all sweet about Bitcoin</p>
He knows exactly what he’s doing with his negativity about it <a href="https://t.co/1ja1xDlM0a">pic.twitter.com/1ja1xDlM0a</a>

— Nik (@nikcantmine) <a href="https://twitter.com/nikcantmine/status/1209297557802893312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
In his recent outburst, Cuban claimed that Bitcoin has fewer use cases than a Baseball trading card, and he would prefer banana over Bitcoin so that he can at least eat the banana. These comments baffled many given his basketball team is among very few to accept crypto donations. So, what has changed in these two years that made Cuban go berserk on Bitcoin?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">There is even less you can do with it <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bitcoin</a> than a baseball card or a painting. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarkCuban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarkCuban</a> rather have bananas. At least he can eat bananas. ? <a href="https://t.co/3bqOxXKslP">pic.twitter.com/3bqOxXKslP</a></p>
— Vasko (@__vasko) <a href="https://twitter.com/__vasko/status/1208835549206695936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2019</a></blockquote>
While Cuban is known for his analytical skills, the current rants involve none, as many naysayers, in the past, his only defence for bashing Bitcoin is that it has no intrinsic value and people can't use it in real life. Well, the first part is at best delusional as this analogy has been often put forward by many naysayers who do not understand how Bitcoin works.

BTC draws its value from the underlying technology of <a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/crypto/a-comprehensive-guide-for-bitcoin-and-blockchain/">blockchain</a> and acceptance from the common public. Its value started at zero, and it remained in that range for almost a year. The value began to rise as people understood the importance of decentralization and how it can help to create a parallel financial ecosystem for the unbanked.
<h2>Bitcoin Real World Use Cases</h2>
Comparing Bitcoin to trading cards shows the aloof nature of billionaire investor who does not understand that Bitcoin has real use cases like the digital store of value, building payment networks on top of Bitcoin network using second-layer solutions such as Lightning and Segwit. Numerous services and businesses are accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment across the world. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's Square app allows people to spend their Bitcoin for their retail needs. Some of the critical sectors where Bitcoin is accepted as a payment method are,
<ul>
 	<li><strong>Fast foods</strong>: Subway in Pennsylvania was seen accepting Bitcoin. Bitcoin Coffee in the Czech Republic accepts Bitcoin. Pizzaforcoins accepts about 50 different crypto coins. The Burger King in Arnhem, Netherlands, accepts Bitcoin payment.</li>
 	<li><strong>Travel</strong>: cheapair.com allows consumers to pay for their flights, hotels, cruises, and rent cars using Bitcoin. Expedia another popular booking website, accept Bitcoin payments.</li>
 	<li><strong>Real estate</strong>: Realtor websites like Propy.com and MyCONrealty.com accept Bitcoin for selling properties. An anonymous buyer bought a villa worth $600,000 in Bali against Bitcoin.</li>
 	<li><strong>Education</strong>: Some of the universities in USA, Switzerland, and Germany accepts fees in Bitcoin.</li>
 	<li><strong>Buy cars</strong>: Post-Oak Motor Cars, a US-based luxury vehicle retailer which offers some of the premium cars such as Bugatti, Rolls Royce, and Bentley offers crypto payment option for the clients. The retailer sold Tesla Model S and Lamborgini for Bitcoin back in 2014.</li>
 	<li><strong>Retail</strong>: There are hundreds of retailers across the globe accepting Bitcoin payment, some of the prominent names which offer Bitcoin and crypto payment option include Overstock's online platform and Square app.</li>
 	<li><strong>Buy a coffin</strong>: Crescent Tide Funeral and Cremation home, a mortgage home offers caskets and other services against Bitcoin.</li>
</ul>
These are just a few examples from different sectors where Bitcoin and other crypto are accepted as a payment option, apart from that Wall Street investors have started to use Bitcoin as an investment diversification to help them consolidate their losses. Maybe Cuban made a lousy investment in the aftermath of 2017 Bullrun and probably lost his investment during 2018 crypto winter.
<h2>Naysayers like Mark Cubin Made Similar Comments During the Rise of the Internet</h2>
Naysayers from any era have many similarities; they often view the world and the technology in question with the existing perspective and usually lacks the vision to see the impact in the near future. When the internet came into existence which started the trend of online marketplaces in the early 2000s, many self-proclaimed analysts predicted that these online shops are sham and won't sell even a fax machine.

As of today, Amazon is the most valuable company with over $100 billion in valuation came up during the same internet phase, which many called a bubble. Just like Bitcoin, Amazon's stock prices were highly volatile and fell more than 50% more than once during the early stage. Naysayers like Cuban of that age made similar claims on why Amazon and identical service providers would fall. However, we all know the importance of the internet and online market places today.

Similarly, when Bitcoin price went through the roof in 2017, several financial powerhouses, including JP Morgan, and many central banks around the globe dismissed it, calling it a bubble. However, when Bitcoin did not die during the longest crypto winter, many went back on their decisions to start studying Bitcoin and how it can help them improve their existing system with the help of Bitcoin's underlying technology blockchain.

Bitcoin is not just a lucrative investment option; it is just one aspect of it; Cuban's perspective about the digital currency is only from that aspect. However, the real motive of Satoshi for launching a decentralized peer-to-peer currency was to bank the unbanked, make people understand how centralized banks and governments have already caused major financial setbacks in the past, and would continue to do the same as there is no one to challenge their authority.

Preston Byrne, an attorney by profession, pointed the same saying, someone as privileged as Cuban would never understand why Bitcoin without the "intrinsic value" is so valuable. He tweeted,
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a> is an establishment billionaire, which is why he has a blind spot for Bitcoin. People who are deplatformed, de-banked or unpersoned need tools like Bitcoin to survive. He doesn’t need it and likely never will. <a href="https://t.co/2DxUhwkmPu">https://t.co/2DxUhwkmPu</a></p>
— Preston Byrne (@prestonjbyrne) <a href="https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/1209292227261976576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
The Bitcoin community is not as much baffled with the rant they are with the double standards that the billionaire investor has shown towards Bitcoin. The timing could not have been wrong given 2019 is seen as the year of institutional investors making a foray into the crypto space. The rant against Bitcoin also came during the promotion of the new season of Shark Tank and given the mainstream media attention that the king coin has been getting, the rant was a win-win situation for the producers.

Mark Cuban's Bitcoin Rant Reflects Naysayer Attitude

Mark Cuban the bilionaire investor and judge of Shark Tank has recently gone on a ranting spree against BTC, confusing many given he has invested in it

An engineering graduate, Prashant focuses on UK and Indian markets. As a crypto-journalist, his interests lie in blockchain technology adoption across emerging economies.

Mark Cuban's Bitcoin Rant Reflects Naysayer Attitude

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