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برچسب: Bitcoins

  • Bitcoin’s Evolution: From Store Of Value To Programmable Asset

    Bitcoin’s Evolution: From Store Of Value To Programmable Asset


    Bitcoin’s Evolution: From Store Of Value To Programmable Asset

    It has been hailed as the world’s most secure store of value for many years, but Bitcoin is poised to become something much more valuable. With advances in its underlying technology, the great-grandfather of cryptocurrency is undergoing a rapid transformation and could soon emerge as the gold standard for the digital economy of the future.

    Until now, Bitcoin’s utility has paled into insignificance when compared to rival cryptocurrencies. Ethereum has long since been considered the undisputed leader in terms of blockchain programmability, providing a foundation for decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and the alternative financial system.

    In contrast, Bitcoin’s architecture has severely limited its potential. It could only be considered as a transactional network, suitable for payments, savings, and little else. Not so anymore. Thanks to the arrival of some innovative Layer-2 solutions, Bitcoin finally has what it takes to fulfill its true potential and act as an alternative form of money, just as Satoshi Nakamoto intended.

    The emergence of the crypto economy

    Bitcoin was revolutionary, but it was the arrival of Ethereum that paved the way for crypto’s alternative financial system. With its support for smart contracts, Ethereum created an environment for developers to build the first decentralized applications, expanding the utility of crypto beyond transactions. It led us into a world where things like decentralized lending, liquidity provision, staking, and yield farming were made possible. It gave birth to a financial economy that anyone could participate in, without any restrictions.

    The success of Ethereum is legendary, but the staying power of Bitcoin is something else. Despite its lack of utility, it continues to stand apart from the rest of the crypto crowd as the undisputed king of digital assets. Just look at the total market capitalization of Bitcoin, which is worth more than that of every other cryptocurrency combined, valued at more than $2 trillion.

    The downside is that this capital is largely sitting idle, but recent events suggest that won’t always be the case.

    Bitcoin’s transformation

    In the last few years, Bitcoin has transformed, with the approval of the first exchange-traded funds dramatically increasing its appeal. The ETFs paved the way for unprecedented institutional investment in Bitcoin, helping its value to soar beyond the $100,000 mark for the first time in late 2024.

    More exciting are the recent technological developments we’ve witnessed. They began with the arrival of Lightning Network, which offered a solution to Bitcoin’s scalability bottlenecks, powering faster and lower-cost transactions by offloading them from the network. It also inspired additional pioneers, such as Rootstock and Liquid Network, which created environments for the first Bitcoin DeFi applications by minting digital assets pegged to its value.

    The real game changer was the Taproot upgrade that was rolled out in 2021 after years of development. Taproot was the innovation that paved the way for Bitcoin to support smart contracts for the first time. It utilized a technique known as MAST (Merklized Alternative Script Trees), which condenses Bitcoin transactions into a single hash, easing the memory constraints of its blockchain.

    Finally, in the last couple of years, further innovation arrived in the shape of highly sophisticated Layer-2 solutions on Bitcoin, such as Babylon and SatLayer. These new networks enable Ethereum-like programmability off-chain while anchoring their transaction data and execution on the underlying Bitcoin blockchain. This means Bitcoin can be used natively on those networks with the same kind of sophisticated applications we’ve seen arise on Ethereum and other smart contract blockchains. What’s more, these networks do not alter Bitcoin’s base layer, and they do not compromise its decentralized principles.

    Because these programmable environments are so tightly integrated with Bitcoin, they provide a foundation for newer DeFi applications that can tap into the largest ocean of liquidity in the crypto ecosystem.

    Building the Bitcoin ecosystem

    Leading the charge is SatLayer, an ambitious project that aims to make Bitcoin the new gold standard for the decentralized economy. By bringing programmability to Bitcoin, SatLayer transforms BTC into a smart asset that will help to extend the DeFi ecosystem far beyond what it is now.

    SatLayer sees Bitcoin as the perfect vehicle for an emerging class of tokenized, real-world assets, where traditional financial instruments such as stocks and shares, bonds, commodities, and real estate live on-chain, increasing liquidity. By cutting out intermediaries, lowering transaction costs, and boosting accessibility through fractional ownership, real-world assets promise to turbocharge the digital economy, and Bitcoin will play a central role in this transformation.

    As a starting point, SatLayer is already providing the foundational security layer for a new generation of decentralized applications. Known as Bitcoin Validated Services, they will unlock fresh utility for Bitcoin in the shape of decentralized insurance, undercollateralized loans, and more.

    Bitcoin’s ecosystem is expanding in other ways, such as Sovryn, further expanding Bitcoin’s utility. With Sovryn, users can deposit Bitcoin and use it to provide liquidity for decentralized trading or lend it to other DeFi users, earning passive income for these activities. Users earn the protocol’s native token, SOV. Meanwhile, Babylon Labs enables a different kind of use case for Bitcoin, leveraging it to provide security for other proof-of-stake blockchains. Users lock up their Bitcoin in Babylon smart contracts, and that capital, combined with the deposits of other users, is what’s used to secure third-party networks. Depositors are then rewarded with the native tokens of the blockchains their deposits secure.

    Much more to come

    The expanded utility of Bitcoin is getting a lot of attention. Recently, the hedge fund Fidelity, which boasts more than $5.9 trillion in assets under management, heaped praise on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, saying it’s the most efficient way to transact with digital assets. It’s an endorsement that reinforces the incredible potential of Bitcoin to provide so much more than just a store of value.

    Many analysts predict Bitcoin’s nascent DeFi economy will thrive. Messari said recently that if Bitcoin DeFi is able to match the level of adoption seen in wBTC on Ethereum, tapping into just under 3% of its addressable market, its value will rise to an incredible $47 billion. But many expect Bitcoin DeFi will ultimately see much higher penetration than this, given the ocean of idle capital locked up in users’ wallets.

    With Bitcoin’s value on the rise again, institutional investors paying more attention, and an ecosystem that’s expanding exponentially, there are more reasons than ever to think it really will become the new gold standard for the digital economy.



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  • How Trump’s Tariffs Are Shaking Up Crypto, Bonds, and Bitcoin’s Role as a Safe Haven

    How Trump’s Tariffs Are Shaking Up Crypto, Bonds, and Bitcoin’s Role as a Safe Haven


    On April 5, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed at least a 10% tariff on other countries, with some slapped at higher rates, including the European Union at 20%, Japan at 24%, and China at 34%. This raised global recession fears that caused investors to sell off risk assets, leading to a meltdown in multiple financial markets, including cryptocurrencies and stocks.

    However, less than a week after the imposition, Trump announced a temporary halt to the tariff. This led to a bullish run in the crypto market.

    Similar to cryptocurrencies, another investment asset has been impacted by tariffs and other economic moves by the U.S. government. And apparently, it has a relationship with the crypto market—most specifically Bitcoin. These are U.S. Treasuries.

    Definition of Terms: 

    • Equity: Equity is the value that can be attributed to the owners of a business, whether public or private. It represents the owner’s interest in the asset and is calculated in both personal and business finance to gauge the health of an investment as a security, according to Investopedia.
      • Stocks are a type of equity.
    • Bonds: A bond is a security in which the investor lends money to the borrower, who must pay the lender back with a fixed interest after a set date.
      • Treasury Bonds: Bonds issued by the government.
    • U.S. Treasury Yield: The effective annual interest rate that the U.S. government pays on one of its debt obligations.
      • It is the annual return investors can expect from holding a U.S. government security, including Treasury bonds.
    • Quantitative Easing (QE): QE is a form of monetary policy in which a central bank purchases securities in the open market to reduce interest rates and increase the money supply, as defined by Investopedia.
      • In essence, QE provides central banks with more liquidity, encouraging lending and investment.
      • Implementing QE is expected to increase the domestic money supply and spur economic activity.

    Financial Securities: How Can They Be Affected by Even a Single Economic Move

    In an April 4, 2025, analysis—a day before the new tariff imposition—financial markets aggregator Barchart reported that the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped below 4% for the first time since October 2024.

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    According to Barchart, the drop in the U.S. Treasury yield was due to investor fears over growing economic uncertainty, including tariffs, recession and a possible rate cut by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve.

    And because U.S. Treasury yields include interest rates on government-issued bonds, Treasury bond yields also experienced a drop at that time.

    Photo for the Article - How Trump’s Tariffs Are Shaking Up Crypto, Bonds, and Bitcoin’s Role as a Safe Haven

    However, on April 7, 2025, the first Monday after the tariff imposition, Treasury bond yields surged while equities declined. Historically, these two securities are inversely related in terms of performance.

    According to the online publication AInvest, because Trump’s tariff caused stock markets to meltdown, investor demand for U.S. Treasuries—including bonds—fluctuated. 

    Then Here Comes Bitcoin: Its Relationship w/ Financial Securities

    Pre-tariff imposition, where the U.S. treasury yield was struggling, the crypto market was having a positive rally, including $BTC.

    Photo for the Article - How Trump’s Tariffs Are Shaking Up Crypto, Bonds, and Bitcoin’s Role as a Safe Haven

    Moreover, historical data shows that when the U.S. Treasury yield struggles, investors tend to seek other investment assets that could offer higher returns, including $BTC, increasing liquidity and risk appetite.

    “The irony is that when yields fall, there’s less reason to sit in ‘safe’ bonds— And ultimately more reason to chase returns in risk assets like BTC and alts. This is why you see risk-on bulls get excited when 10-year yields begin falling.”

    Dan Gambardello, Crypto Analyst

    On the other hand, the post-tariff period caused U.S. Treasury yields to rise, while the crypto market and equities declined. Investors sought less risky investment assets with fixed interest, unlike $BTC, which is volatile in nature.

    “If inflation continues to exceed expectations, central banks might maintain a tighter monetary policy for longer periods, which historically has been unfavorable for risk assets. This potential shift necessitates a reevaluation of Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios, particularly as it may increasingly function independently from equities.”

    Mike Cahill, Chief Executive Officer, Douro Labs

    However, in terms of long-term store of value, $BTC is seen as the better asset. Analysts believe Trump’s aggressive tariff policy could produce inflationary pressure—tariff-related costs would rise, consumer prices would follow, and the global economy could be affected.

    This, in turn, could cause investors to choose $BTC over other investment instruments.

    Lastly, if the Federal Reserve decides to use QE to improve the country’s economic situation, $BTC and the crypto market could recover and experience a bullish rally, according to Arthur Hayes, the founder of BitMEX, a peer-to-peer trading platform specializing in leveraged contracts traded in $BTC.

    “We need Fed easing, the 2yr treasury yield dumped after Tariff announcement because the market is telling us the Fed will be cutting soon and possibly restarting QE to counter -ve economic impact.”

    Arthur Hayes, Founder, BitMEX

    The same sentiment was expressed by crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, who stated that $BTC could reach its new all-time high if the Federal Reserve opts for QE.

    • Read More: Crypto Analyst: $BTC Likely to Rally with ATH Records Between Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 

    To Conclude

    Here is how financial securities and $BTC behave according to different economic situations. 

    Aggressive Tariff  Neutral Tariff Raised Fed Rate Fed Rate Cut QE Imposition 
    $BTC and Crypto Market Down Up Down Up Up
    U.S. Treasury Yields Up Down Up Down Down
    Equity  Down Up  Down Up Up

    This article is published on BitPinas: How Trump’s Tariffs Are Shaking Up Crypto, Bonds, and Bitcoin’s Role as a Safe Haven

    What else is happening in Crypto Philippines and beyond?



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