Top economist says Bitcoin has one flaw gold will never have
Mon, August 10, 2026 at 7:04 PM GMT+3 2 min read
Robin Brooks has a problem with the Bitcoin 'as store of value narrative', and he's using recent price action to make the case that the perception gap between Bitcoin and gold has never been more visible.
The former IMF economist and prominent macro voice posted on X that Bitcoin "isn't part of the debasement trade," pointing to its consistent underperformance against precious metals since the debasement cycle kicked off.
Gold has gained 10 percent in the past ten days alone. Bitcoin hasn't followed.
Gold is doing what Bitcoin was supposed to do
Brooks traced the debasement trade back to last year's Jackson Hole meeting, where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the beginning of an easing cycle.
Related: Bitcoin has never broken this line in 15 years, it is on it right now
More recently, he pointed to dovish inflation commentary from Fed Governor Kevin Warsh at the July 29 FOMC meeting as adding further fuel to gold's run.
The argument is straightforward. When central banks signal looser monetary policy, effectively debasing the currency, investors historically rotate into assets that hold value outside the traditional financial system.
Gold has performed exactly that role. Bitcoin, despite years of being marketed as "digital gold," hasn't kept pace.
"The lesson is that Bitcoin is NOT a safe haven or store of value the way gold is," Brooks wrote. "That's a matter of perception, but it's validated by price action."
A different view from inside crypto markets
Not everyone agrees with that framing. Bitwise's Jeff Park pushed back directly, arguing that Bitcoin actually rallies on both types of yield curve steepeners, bull and bear, capturing upside to both currency debasement and dollar dedollarization simultaneously.
He pointed to five specific periods since 2020 where Bitcoin performed strongly under both macro conditions.
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:
"The key insight here is recognizing BTC rallies on BOTH kinds of steepeners, bull and bear Mar 20 (bull), Feb 21 (bear), Mar 23 (bull), Sep-Oct 23 (bear), Sep 24 (bull) All wonderful times as Bitcoin captures upside to BOTH debasement and dedollarization. This may yet be the greatest bear steepener ahead," he wrote.
Where Raoul Pal's framework fits
Earlier, macro investor Raoul Pal has argued that Bitcoin tracks global liquidity at an 87 percent correlation, meaning its moves are less about safe haven perception and more about the total amount of money in the system.
That framework actually supports Brooks' observation without contradicting it: Bitcoin isn't gold, it's a liquidity amplifier that swings harder around the same macro line gold trades on.
The perception gap Brooks identifies is real. Whether it closes depends on whether institutional adoption eventually rewires how markets categorize the asset.
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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