The Shift to a Sovereign Monetary Asset | by Bitcoin Basics | The Capital | Apr, 2025
Welcome back to Bitcoin Basics, where we unpack the evolving role of Bitcoin in today’s financial landscape.
For years, Bitcoin has been misunderstood, often pigeonholed as a speculative asset akin to a volatile tech stock. But recent market dynamics suggest a profound shift is underway. Investors are beginning to see Bitcoin for what it was always designed to be: a neutral, sovereign monetary asset. In this post, we’ll explore why Bitcoin is decoupling from traditional markets, why it’s rallying amidst global uncertainty, and why this could be the early stages of a seismic repricing of sovereign risk.
The Old Narrative: Bitcoin as a High-Beta Tech Stock
Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has been a polarizing asset. To many investors, it’s been a high-risk, high-reward bet, often lumped in with speculative tech stocks. This perception wasn’t entirely baseless. Bitcoin’s price volatility, especially in its early years, mirrored the wild swings of growth stocks. During bull markets, it soared alongside tech-heavy indices like the Nasdaq. During bear markets, it often fell harder than most.
This “high-beta tech stock” narrative was fueled by Bitcoin’s early adopters — tech enthusiasts, libertarians, and speculative traders — who embraced its disruptive potential. Institutional investors, when they…