How is Financialisation Impacting Bitcoin?
The financialisation of Bitcoin marks one of the most significant transformations in its history, as the asset evolves from a P2P digital currency into a cornerstone of institutional finance. Once dismissed as speculative and disruptive, Bitcoin is now embraced by Wall Street and global asset managers through exchange-traded funds, futures, and structured financial products that make it accessible within regulated investment frameworks. This shift has elevated Bitcoin’s legitimacy and liquidity, attracting corporate treasuries, hedge funds, and traditional investors, while giving rise to “Suitcoiners”, financial professionals who view it as a macro hedge and “digital gold” rather than a transactional currency. Yet, as financialisation deepens, Bitcoin’s on-chain activity has slowed and its cultural ethos has begun to evolve, beyond individual sovereignty and decentralisation toward custodial ownership and institutional oversight. While this integration strengthens Bitcoin’s position as a global store of value, it also risks diluting the revolutionary ideals that defined its creation, leaving its future balanced between two identities, one as a tool for financial freedom and another as a fully financialised asset within the traditional system it was meant to disrupt.
