Bitcoin is above $93,000. Headlines scream about institutional adoption. BlackRock’s Larry Fink is practically evangelizing. Now I know everyone’s saying Bitcoin is going to six figures by year’s end. But before you jump on the bandwagon, ask yourself: are we celebrating decentralization, or the enclosure of a revolutionary idea?
Wall Street's Embrace A Double-Edged Sword
The narrative is simple: institutional money equals legitimacy, stability, and higher prices. We're told this is good. What if it’s not that the institutions are going super deep and really adopting Bitcoin, but rather domesticating it. Think of it like this: free-range chickens lay more nutritious eggs, but factory farms produce more eggs. Which is better? Depends on what you value.
Impressive, sure, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) vaulting more than $18 billion. That’s $18 billion they control, reliant on their compliance, and in the end benefitting their shareholders. It’s not so much about empowering people as it is about introducing a new asset class that can go on wealthy people’s portfolios. Are we genuinely toasting to an uncontrolled, bottom-up revolution? The truth is that currently almost all of Bitcoin is controlled by a handful of Wall Street mega banks.
The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act purports to provide such clarity. I view it more as a gilded cage. The CFTC gets broader reach. This results in additional regulations, additional compliance, and allows governments to exert more control over the movement of value. Is this the libertarian dream Satoshi envisioned? I think not.
Volatility Drop Or Freedom Erosion?
Yet the same volatility that people are claiming has decreased 75% is heralded as Bitcoin maturing. Volatility isn't inherently bad. It's the price you pay for freedom. It's the price you pay for a market that isn't manipulated by central banks or propped up by quantitative easing. Volatility is a feature, not a bug.
Think of it like this: a healthy forest is chaotic, unpredictable, and teeming with life. The difference, of course, is that a manicured garden is orderly, predictable, and ultimately sterile. Which ecosystem is more resilient? Which offers more opportunity?
Interestingly, the scaling down in volatility is directly proportional to this surge of institutional participation. Pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds—the smart money is investing in big ways. Along with their entry come risk-averse strategies, bringing with them a strong preference for safe, predictable returns. What occurs when Bitcoin stops fitting their models? What do you do when it does so in a way that threatens their bottom line? Finally, will they sell, starting a vicious cycle that harms the very people they are intended to assist?
Geopolitics Or Institutional Centralization?
Bitcoin as a geopolitical hedge sounds appealing. To avoid tactics of corrupt regimes and to safeguard your wealth from inflation. Guess who is actually using it as a geopolitical hedge. Which indicates that average Venezuelans or Argentines are not the ones purchasing Bitcoin via BlackRock’s ETF. Are hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds adopting it to diversify their portfolios? Might they even be able to wield power over international markets as a consequence?
- Scenario 1: Individual buys Bitcoin directly, controls keys, resists government overreach.
- Scenario 2: Institutional investor buys Bitcoin ETF, passively benefits from price appreciation, has zero control over the underlying asset.
The inconvenient truth is that institutional adoption, though increasing the price, is very much in the process of centralizing power and control. We are exchanging sovereignty over our financial future for the mirage of stability and increased returns. It’s a Faustian bargain.
The true Bitcoin boom of 2025 ain’t about price. It’s not just the sounding fun. It’s about the urgent need to reclaim the original vision of decentralization, individual sovereignty, and financial freedom. It’s all about self custody. It’s about educating ourselves, taking control of our keys, and building a truly peer-to-peer financial system. Or else, Bitcoin risks being just another weaponization of the powerful to further amass their wealth and control. And that, my friends, is a boom not worth celebrating. It's a tragedy in the making.
The real Bitcoin boom of 2025 isn't about price. It's about the urgent need to reclaim the original vision of decentralization, individual sovereignty, and financial freedom. It's about educating ourselves, taking control of our keys, and building a truly peer-to-peer financial system. Otherwise, Bitcoin will become just another tool for the powerful to consolidate their wealth and control. And that, my friends, is not a boom worth celebrating. It's a tragedy in the making.
