Bitcoin does not just compete with gold as an alternative store of value, but all savings instruments, including government securities.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) total addressable market encompasses the $16 trillion gold market and the $30 trillion US Treasury market used as a store of value by individual bondholders and institutions, according to Hunter Horsley, the CEO of digital asset investment firm Bitwise.
“The opportunity for Bitcoin isn’t just gold; it is the $30 trillion-plus using Treasuries as a store of value,” the CEO wrote on Friday.
Horsley was responding to an earlier post from economist Mohamed El-Erian, in which the economist cautioned analysts that US Treasury flows are no longer a barometer for investor flight to safety.
Instead, the economist said that analysts should watch flows into gold and silver — the traditional hedges against currency inflation — for an indication of where investors are seeking safe haven from market risks.
Bitcoin continues to attract investor attention as it emerges as an alternative savings technology and a store-of-value asset with gold-like properties, that can hedge against geopolitical turmoil, macroeconomic shock, and downturns in risk-on markets.
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Geopolitical tensions and runaway government spending fuel Bitcoin adoption
Geopolitical tensions and excessive spending by governments are fueling Bitcoin adoption, as market participants seek to protect the value of their savings from the corrosive effects of inflation and the ever-present counter-party risks inherent in centrally managed fiat currencies.
In the United States, President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is estimated to add up to $2.5 trillion in deficit spending — piling onto the nearly $37 trillion national debt.
Critics of the bill, including Elon Musk, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), say that contrary to President Trump’s stated aims, the current budget is not sustainable and will erode the long-term fiscal health of the US further.
In April 2025, the bond market reacted to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty of Trump’s trade tariffs and rising US debt levels in a sharp sell-off as investors unloaded the US government securities.
The market dump spiked bond yields as investors demanded higher interest rates to compensate for the increased risk of lending to the US government.
“The US fiscal situation is bad, and Trump’s ideas for improving it just spooked the bond markets and it will take something serious to get it to settle down again,” author of The Bitcoin Standard Saifedean Ammous wrote in an April 23 X post.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
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