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And now, for the weekly roundup…

Climbing the Asset Ladder

Bitcoin broke $111,000 last night, setting a new all-time high and overtaking Amazon to become the fifth-largest asset in the world by market cap. Notably, this recent move hasn't come on the back of retail mania or widespread euphoria. Instead, supply continues to be quietly absorbed by long-term holders—individual savers, corporate treasuries, covert sovereign entities, and soon, U.S. state-level governments.

This week, Texas successfully passed legislation establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. If it were its own country, Texas would rank as the 8th largest economy in the world—making this a meaningful signal on the global stage. Similar bills are advancing in other states as well, reinforcing the sense that bitcoin offers a foundation of certainty in an otherwise unstable monetary landscape.

JP Morgan, historically reluctant, is now providing clients access to bitcoin—not necessarily because their philosophy has changed, but because client demand is becoming impossible to ignore.

And while capital shifts into harder assets, the macro backdrop continues to decay. Global bond yields are rising. Governments are taking on more debt. Institutional trust is eroding. In this environment, bitcoin continues to gain credibility as a logical tool to preserve wealth.

Reframing the Global Asset Leaderboard

Bitcoin’s ranking among the world’s largest assets has sparked conversation—but many of the most shared charts paint an incomplete picture. They tend to focus narrowly on public equities and precious metals while leaving out massive categories like global fiat (M2), fixed income, and real estate.

The revised table below highlights a broader and more accurate view of the global asset landscape. When we zoom out, bitcoin’s position becomes even more impressive—and its upside more obvious.

It’s already passed nearly every individual equity besides Apple, NVIDIA, and Microsoft. From here, bitcoin will increasingly be measured against entire asset classes—gold, treasuries, bonds, and national currencies. As more allocators recognize this shift, the case for bitcoin as a core holding—not a speculative flyer—grows stronger.

New Research from Early Riders

This week, Early Riders released part two of its research series "Why Multi-Institution Custody Is Winner Take All" explaining why MIC is emerging as the superior framework for bitcoin custody.

Part 1 – A Brief History of Money, Bearer Assets & Custodians

Early Riders introduces the custody dilemma at the heart of bitcoin adoption: $600B+ lost to hacks, fraud, and mismanagement. Part 1 traces the evolution of bearer asset custody from ancient temples to modern banks, showing how bitcoin—unlike gold—can avoid centralization through native multisig. The piece lays out how MIC leverages bitcoin’s programmability and auditability to solve legacy custody flaws and unlock a new design space for financial services, inheritance, and institutional-grade security.

Part 2 – Preceding Custodial Options, What Is MIC, & Its Benefits

Part 2 dives into the specifics of MIC—how it works, why it’s needed, and why it wins. From FTX and BlockFi to Ledger and Bybit, the failures of centralization and self-custody are mounting. MIC distributes keys across independent, regulated institutions, creating real fault tolerance without ceding unilateral control. The report outlines MIC’s technical architecture, benefits across user types, and why rising bitcoin adoption, demographic shifts, and growing attack surfaces make this model the only scalable path forward for long-term custody.

For bitcoin to absorb meaningful flow from the ~$1 quadrillion global asset landscape, it needs infrastructure that large pools of capital can trust. MIC provides the security, transparency, and operational resilience needed to make that possible.

Still Early

Most people still aren’t paying attention. That’s what makes this moment so fascinating. Bitcoin is climbing the global asset leaderboard. Federal, state, and local governments are adopting it. The banking system is beginning to accommodate it. Corporates and institutions are beginning to accumulate. Every day, a new decision-maker wakes up and realizes that zero bitcoin exposure no longer feels prudent.

Chart of the Week

"$107K Bitcoin vs. Long-term US Treasury bonds. At a certain point it has nothing to do with gains and everything to do with financial survival. Bitcoin is not a nice to own. It's a must own."

— Stack Hodler on X

Quote of the Week

"Our country's fiscal situation is undoubtedly extremely poor, worse than Greece's."

— Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba

Podcasts of the Week

The Bitcoin Arms Race, U.S. Strategic Advantage, and a Changing World Order with Matthew Pines

In this episode of The Last Trade, hosts Jackson Mikalic, Michael Tanguma, & Brian Cubellis are joined by Matthew Pines of the Bitcoin Policy Institute to discuss strategic bitcoin reserves, policy priorities, the global monetary reordering, AI, UAPs, and way more. One of the most fascinating convos we’ve had to date.

AI Kills SaaS, Bitcoin Saves Treasuries: The Next Playbook for Founders

In this episode of Final Settlement, hosts Michael Tanguma, Liam Nelson, & Brian Cubellis are joined by Cam Doody, founder of Brickyard VC and Advisor to Early Riders, to discuss AI’s deflationary force, bitcoin’s role in a debt-ridden world, reshoring + economic uncertainty, and how bitcoin is reshaping venture capital, corporate strategy, and custody models.

Bitcoin Is the New Hurdle Rate: Corporate Treasuries Are Waking Up

In this episode of Scarce Assets, hosts Jackson Mikalic & Tim Kotzman are joined by Ethan Peck, Director of Bitcoin at Strive Asset Management, to discuss why 96% of companies are losing to T-bills, the shift from ESG theater to bitcoin strategy, volatility myths & capital mismanagement, shareholder activism converging with bitcoin & more!

Closing Note

Onramp provides bitcoin financial services built on multi-institution custody. To learn more about our products for individuals and institutions, schedule a consultation to chat with us about your situation and needs.

Until next week,

Brian Cubellis