Bitcoin is the first and currently the largest crypto asset. With its 100% digital and decentralized nature, Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold.” This is because it has a limited supply of 21 million coins. In addition, just like gold, new Bitcoins cannot be created arbitrarily, but are created through a complex process called mining.
Also Read: What Is Mining: How It Works, Types, and Roles in the Crypto World
After the bullish market in 2013 and the macroeconomic crisis in 2020, Bitcoin's status as digital gold has become more widespread. Retail and institutional investors have begun to see this asset as a hedge against fiat currency inflation.
However, not all financial analysts agree with Bitcoin's “digital gold” reputation. One of them is Barry Bannister, Chief Equity Strategist at the wealth management and investment firm Stifel Financial.
In an interview with CNBC on February 10, Bannister argued that Bitcoin is not digital gold.
“Bitcoin is not digital gold. When you think about gold, when it does well and when it does best, historically, it's because of higher-than-expected inflation with lower growth, basically stagflation. But Bitcoin really behaves more like a high-liquidity-driven speculative financial instrument, more like a big tech stock.”
Instead of digital gold as a hedge against inflation, Bannister argues that Bitcoin is a liquidity-driven trading asset.
Furthermore, Bannister points out that Bitcoin's reaction to macroeconomic signals has changed. “For 15 years, Bitcoin would go up when the dollar went down. Now the dollar goes down, and Bitcoin also goes down with it.”
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $67,000. CoinMarketCap recorded a 2.5% decrease in 24 hours and a 26.4% decrease in the past month.
The decline in Bitcoin's value has sparked much speculation about its short-term price. Last week, analysts at Stifel predicted that Bitcoin's price could fall to $38,000.
Meanwhile, Ed Engel, an analyst at investment bank Compass Point, predicted that Bitcoin's price could return to $60,000 or even $55,000 before recovering.
On the other hand, there are also analysts who are optimistic about Bitcoin's performance in 2026. Gautam Chhugani, managing director of global equity research and brokerage firm Bernstein, commented that the decline in Bitcoin's price is merely a crisis of confidence.
He believes Bitcoin will reach another all-time high this year, with a target of $150,000 by year-end. For reference, Bitcoin's previous all-time high was $126,000 in October 2025.
