The debate over Bitcoin's "store of value" narrative has reignited amid growing observations that the cryptocurrency is failing to keep pace with gold's rally. Robin Brooks, a macroeconomics expert formerly with the International Monetary Fund, argued that Bitcoin is not fulfilling the role expected of it during a period of currency debasement, asserting that Bitcoin's underperformance confirms a "perception gap."
Brooks wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 10th (local time), "Bitcoin is not a debasement play." He emphasized that over just the past 10 days, gold prices have surged approximately 10%, while Bitcoin has failed to follow suit. Brooks' argument is straightforward: when central banks signal accommodative monetary policy, currencies become debased, and investors have historically moved into assets that can preserve value outside the traditional financial system. In that process, gold has faithfully performed its role as a store of value, but Bitcoin—promoted for years as "digital gold"—has fallen short of expectations.
Brooks identified last year's Jackson Hole Symposium in the United States as the starting point of this trend. He explained that when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the beginning of an easing cycle, the "currency debasement" trade began in earnest, subsequently adding further momentum to gold's rally. He also noted that dovish remarks on inflation by Fed Governor Kevin Warsh at the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting provided an additional boost to gold prices.
In response, the digital asset industry has directly challenged Brooks' framing. Jeff Park, Head of Research at Bitwise, argued that Brooks evaluated Bitcoin's performance through a fixed "store of value" lens, contending that Bitcoin has a tendency to rally broadly during periods of yield curve shifts. He explained that Bitcoin has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to rise during both bull steepening and bear steepening episodes.
