T. Rowe Price says bitcoin is an asset against currency debasement

An assessment has emerged that bitcoin has now risen to a core asset in institutional investors' discussions on how to respond to currency-value erosion.

On Sept. 20 local time, blockchain outlet Bitcoin Magazine reported that Blue Macellari (블루 마셀라리), who built the digital assets business at global asset manager T. Rowe Price, assessed that bitcoin's role has become clearer alongside changes in the U.S. Treasury market.

Macellari linked U.S. fiscal conditions and bond-market trends to the investment rationale for bitcoin based on his experience investing in emerging-market sovereign debt and distressed debt. His main argument was that bitcoin is no longer an alternative asset, but has moved to the centre of asset-allocation debates that reflect the possibility of weakening currency value. He viewed bitcoin as a core element of discussions on currency-value erosion.

He also pointed to the possibility of a return of so-called bond vigilantes being discussed again in markets. He said fiscal worries and liquidity issues are resurfacing in the U.S. Treasury market, while the demand base for Treasuries is also changing. He focused in particular on the main buyers underpinning U.S. debt shifting from overseas to domestic sources. Still, he assessed that the United States has a structurally different base of Treasury buyers from other countries, making it difficult to directly apply the cases of Japan or Italy.