Wall Street’s Bitcoin Embrace Proves Crypto Isn’t Just for Rebels Anymore

Institutional money is flooding into Bitcoin—and the suits aren’t even pretending to care about ’decentralization’ anymore.

The once-niche asset now has BlackRock’s ticker on its desk, futures traders nodding approvingly, and pension funds quietly allocating. Bitwise’s CIO calls it ’phase two’ of crypto’s evolution. Translation: the adults are in the room.

Of course, this being finance, the whole thing reeks of irony. The same banks that mocked Bitcoin for years are now building the infrastructure to profit from it. Somewhere, Satoshi Nakamoto is either laughing—or rolling over in anonymity.

“Bitcoin isn’t the same asset it was five years ago,” Hougan noted, emphasizing its transformation from a fringe risk asset to a maturing financial instrument. Comparing its growth to adolescence, he suggested Bitcoin is in the process of redefining its role in global markets.

As Bitcoin begins to behave more like digital gold, Hougan believes its appeal will broaden, attracting a wave of new capital from those seeking a reliable hedge in a complex macroeconomic landscape.