Bitcoin: The Shadow Central Bank

Bitcoin doesn’t print bills, but every time its price rises it releases liquidity: holders use it as collateral and suddenly new money emerges in the form of loans and derivatives.

This expansion doesn’t rely on central banks. It ignites automatically with the asset’s revaluation. A kind of decentralized QE: price up = extra liquidity, price down = brutal contraction.

ETFs have turbocharged this cycle. They channel institutional money directly into Bitcoin, boosting demand and turning price appreciation into a structured source of liquidity.

Banks are also testing the waters, offering custody, structured products, and even loans against crypto collateral. This brings Bitcoin liquidity into the traditional financial bloodstream.

What’s striking is that this “crypto liquidity” already coexists with fiat. Two engines: one managed by central banks, the other driven by an algorithm with fixed supply and global markets.

The paradox: what began as a hedge against traditional issuance is now also a lever for credit expansion, only outside state control.
Does this turn Bitcoin into a “quasi-algorithmic central bank,” issuing liquidity at the pace of its volatility and adoption, parallel to the fiat system?