Bitwise CIO: Bitcoin is in its 'adolescence' on path to store of value

Matt Hougan, CIO of crypto asset manager Bitwise, has pushed back against claims that Bitcoin is merely a speculative asset, arguing instead that it is an emerging store of value. The comments were a direct rebuttal to Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader and founder of Sevens Report Research, who had previously asserted that Bitcoin is neither a substitute for gold nor an inflation hedge. In a post on X, Hougan stated that while Bitcoin was a purely speculative asset at its inception in 2009, it is now in a transitional period. He argued that once central banks universally hold it like gold, its speculative nature will disappear. Hougan added that if one believes in the possibility of a digital store of value, it is necessary to accept that Bitcoin must go through an "adolescence."