Bitcoin Faces ‘Nation-State Rug Pull’ Risk, Warns Willy Woo

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Ah, Bitcoin. The supposed “perfect asset” for the next millennium-because who wouldn’t want a currency that could potentially outlive humanity itself? But, as Willy Woo, the wise oracle of Bitcoin, so kindly reminds us, perfection alone doesn’t cut it. We need capital-lots of it-and we need it fast if Bitcoin is ever going to stand toe-to-toe with the mighty US dollar or gold. Apparently, that’s the only thing standing between us and the Bitcoin utopia. Who knew?

At the Baltic Honeybadger conference in Riga, Woo decided to lay it all out on the table:

“You don’t get to change the world unless this monetary asset – in my opinion, the perfect asset for the next thousand of years – does its job. And it can’t do its job unless capital flows in and gets big enough to rival the US dollar.”

Currently, Bitcoin’s market cap is a mere $2.42 trillion-a number that looks impressively small when compared to gold’s $23 trillion and the US dollar’s $21.9 trillion money supply. It’s almost cute, right? As Woo ominously warns, this gap could reveal some very real weaknesses when the next financial storm hits. Who doesn’t love a good storm?

The Silent Dangers in Corporate Bitcoin Holdings

Ah, but wait-corporate Bitcoin holdings. It turns out, they’re not all sunshine and rainbows. While these corporate treasuries are speeding up Bitcoin adoption, their debt structures are about as transparent as a brick wall.

“No one’s really publicly looked deeply into the debt structuring,” he said. “I absolutely think the weak ones will blow up, and people can lose a lot of money.”

In the unlikely event of a bear market (cue sarcasm), that could lead to a flood of liquidated BTC, sweeping away any remaining hopes of a stable market. Exciting, right?

Watch:

– Efrat Fenigson (@efenigson) August 10, 2025

Custody Concentration: A Nation-State ‘Rug Pull’ Risk

Here’s where things really get juicy-custody centralization. Yes, that’s right. The big players are flocking to spot Bitcoin ETFs, pension funds, and custodians like Coinbase, thinking self-custody is a thing of the past. But Woo doesn’t seem too impressed with this. Why? Because all that Bitcoin is now within arm’s reach of nation-states, and that could mean a government-led rug pull is just around the corner. What a plot twist!

“It’s attracting flows,” he said, “but the investors with the money bags aren’t self-custodying.”

Self-Custody as the Endgame

In a scene that could have been straight out of a cryptocurrency soap opera, Max Kei, CEO of Bitcoin self-custody platform Debifi, claimed that the shift towards self-custody would happen in stages-from custodians to companies, and finally to individuals. How sweet, the gradual path to freedom.

But Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, wasn’t having any of it. He argued that businesses should be the first to adopt Bitcoin. Because, if they can’t outperform Bitcoin’s returns, they should just close up shop and buy Bitcoin. A bold move, Adam.

Bitcoin’s long-term potential may be unparalleled, but as Woo points out, unless we fix the centralized custody problem and address the corporate debt risks, the “perfect asset” may end up being more of a perfect disaster for its investors. But hey, what’s life without a little risk?

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2025-08-11 15:34