The following is a guest post and opinion from Fabian Dori, Chief Investment Officer at Sygnum Bank.
Institutional investors no longer debate Bitcoin’s legitimacy. With spot ETFs surpassing $50 billion in assets and companies issuing Bitcoin-linked convertibles, the question now is structural: how does Bitcoin integrate into global finance? The answer is emerging: Bitcoin financialization.
Bitcoin is becoming programmable collateral and a tool for optimizing capital strategy. Institutions that recognize this shift will set the pace for the next decade of finance.
The Convertible-Bond Playbook
Traditional finance tends to view Bitcoin’s volatility as a liability. Recent zero-coupon convertible-bond issuances by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) tell a different story. These deals turn volatility into upside: the more volatile the asset, the more valuable the bond’s embedded conversion option. Subject to solvency conditions, such bonds give investors asymmetric payoff profiles while expanding treasury exposure to appreciating assets.
The trend is spreading. Japan’s Metaplanet has adopted a Bitcoin-focused strategy, and France’s The Blockchain Group and Twenty One Capital are joining a new class of “Bitcoin Treasury Companies.” This approach echoes the playbook sovereigns used during the Bretton Woods era: borrow fiat and convert it into hard assets. The digital version couples capital-structure optimization with treasury-linked appreciation.
Beyond Corporate Balance Sheets
Treasury diversification—as seen at Tesla—and its extension into balance-sheet leverage by Bitcoin Treasury companies are only two examples of digital finance intertwining with traditional finance. Bitcoin financialization is infiltrating every corner of modern markets.
Bitcoin as 24/7 collateral. Bitcoin-backed lending surpassed $4 billion in 2024, according to Galaxy Digital, and it continues to grow across CeFi and DeFi. These instruments offer global, round-the-clock access—features unavailable in traditional lending.
Structured products and on-chain yield. A wave of structured products now provides Bitcoin exposure with embedded liquidity guarantees, principal protection, or enhanced yield. On-chain platforms are evolving too: what began as retail-driven DeFi is maturing into institutional-grade vaults that generate competitive returns using Bitcoin as underlying collateral.
Beyond ETFs. ETFs were only the beginning. As institutional-grade derivative markets develop, tokenized fund wrappers and structured notes add layers of liquidity, downside protection, and yield enhancement.
Sovereign adoption. When U.S. states draft Bitcoin-reserve bills and nations explore “Bitbonds,” we are no longer talking about diversification; we are witnessing a new chapter in monetary sovereignty.
Regulation: Advantage for Early Movers
Regulation is not a blocker—it is a moat for early movers. Frameworks such as MiCA in Europe, Singapore’s Payment Services Act, and the SEC’s approval of tokenized MMFs demonstrate that digital assets can fit within existing rules. Institutions that invest today in custody, compliance, and licensing will lead when global regimes converge. BlackRock’s SEC-approved BUIDL fund is a clear proof point: a compliant, tokenized MMF launched inside current regulations.
Why Macro Tailwinds Accelerate the Shift
Macro instability, currency debasement, rising rates, and fragmented payment rails are accelerating Bitcoin’s financialization. Family offices that began with small directional allocations are now lending against BTC. Corporations are issuing convertibles. Asset managers are launching structured strategies that blend yield with programmable exposure. The “digital gold” thesis has matured into a broader capital strategy.
Challenges remain. Bitcoin still carries heightened market and liquidity risk—especially in times of stress—and the regulatory environment continues to evolve, as does the technological maturity of DeFi platforms. Yet, understood as infrastructure rather than merely an asset, Bitcoin positions investors for a system where appreciating collateral offers advantages traditional assets cannot match.
Closing the Loop
Bitcoin remains volatile and is not without risk. But, deployed with appropriate controls, it transforms from a speculative asset into programmable infrastructure—an instrument for yield generation, collateral management, and macro hedging.
The next wave of financial innovation will not just use Bitcoin; it will be built on it. What eurodollars did for global liquidity in the 1960s, bitcoin-denominated balance-sheet strategy may do for the 2030s.