It's a Big Week for Bitcoin and Crypto as an Investable Asset Class

Bitcoin was up ~ 5% and the CoinDesk 20 Index was up ~ 6% last week. In a landscape where traditional assets seemed to lose

Global macroeconomic uncertainty has continued to escalate, with traditional assets showing signs of fragility and unpredictability. However, in the midst of this market turbulence, digital assets have held steady with moderate volatility, offering an intriguing counterpoint to the conventional wisdom.

As usual, there has been an blurring of bitcoin's 'store of value' claim with 'flight-to-quality' and 'safe haven' in the commentary. We will keep pounding the drum on the difference between 'flight-to-quality'/'safe haven' and 'store of value' assets. Bitcoin, still in its adolescence and with limited access to traditional liquidity pools (i.e., banks), shouldn't be expected to function as a mature flight-to-quality or safe haven asset during extreme volatility episodes. Similarly, there are things I don't expect or enlist my teenage children to do.

Seeing gold's outperformance vs. bitcoin this year supports this argument. Gold has better access to traditional finance, is perceived to be limited in the supply, and has a mature network. But does it have adoption momentum? Is it an asset of the future? While gold glitters in times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, bitcoin offers something different - a technological evolution in the concept of money itself, with adoption curves that continue to remind us that we're still early in its lifecycle.

The University of Michigan Consumer Survey capped off the week with two powerful data points that support bitcoin's price trajectory: the highest expectations for 1-year inflation since 1981(!) and elevated expectations for unemployment.

We favor anchoring bitcoin's demand to expected real interest rates - the difference between expected nominal rates and inflation expectations. When real rates are expected to rise, bitcoin faces headwinds. Conversely, when real rates are expected to fall due to higher inflation and potential rate cuts (hello, rising unemployment expectations), bitcoin tends to benefit. The Michigan survey numbers provide a surprisingly clear north star for bitcoin accumulation: 1) higher expected inflation and 2) unemployment expectations that could prompt Fed easing. Lower nominal rates, higher inflation.

This framework helps explain bitcoin's impressive performance during previous easing cycles and suggests we could be entering a similarly favorable environment. The divergence between consumer inflation expectations and the Fed's more sanguine outlook bears watching closely - historically, the consumer has often proven more prescient than the central bank.

The potential for a broader rally in the crypto market suggests that diversification within the space could once again prove rewarding, especially if regulatory tailwinds continue to strengthen. The tide that lifts bitcoin rarely leaves other quality projects stranded.