Willy Woo: Bitcoin Needs Bigger Capital Flows
Bitcoin OG Willy Woo made waves at the Baltic Honeybadger conference in Riga, Latvia, declaring that Bitcoin is “the perfect asset” for the next millennium. However, he cautioned that it won’t surpass the US dollar or gold without significant investment inflows.
Currently, Bitcoin’s market cap stands at $2.42 trillion, just 11% of gold’s $23 trillion and far behind the US dollar’s $21.9 trillion money supply. Woo stressed that without reaching comparable levels, Bitcoin’s transformative potential could remain untapped.
Treasury Firms Driving Adoption — With Risks
Woo identified two major obstacles preventing Bitcoin from becoming a world reserve asset. While Bitcoin treasury firms have helped accelerate adoption, their debt structuring remains largely opaque, posing the risk of a treasury bubble burst.
Woo also pointed to a worrying trend among altcoin treasuries, saying they are using the same strategies, potentially “creating another bubble.” His concern is heightened by the uncertainty of what will happen during the next bear market:
Nation-State Risks from Institutional Exposure
Woo also cautioned against over-reliance on spot Bitcoin ETFs and pension funds for exposure, warning this could place large amounts of Bitcoin within reach of nation-states. This could increase the risk of a government-led “rug-pull.”
While these Bitcoin on-ramps bring in more capital, Woo warned that investors are taking on the risk of being rugged at a nation-state level.
The Self-Custody Push
Panelist Max Kei, founder and CEO of Bitcoin self-custody platform Debifi, said self-custody will spread gradually from large custodians to everyday users.
This progressive adoption could safeguard Bitcoin from centralized risks, but Woo maintained that wider investor education is still needed.
Companies as Logical Starting Points
Despite Woo’s concerns, Blockstream CEO Adam Back argued that companies remain the most logical entry point for Bitcoin adoption.
Back also stressed that companies don’t need to be solely Bitcoin-focused to benefit: “It doesn’t have to be a pure play.”
As Bitcoin’s market matures, the tug-of-war between institutional exposure and self-custody will likely define its path toward becoming the world’s dominant asset — whether for the next decade or the next thousand years.
