Several prominent leaders in Bitcoin adoption gathered on the Nakamoto Stage at the Bitcoin 2026 conference to make the case that the industry’s unusual dynamics—direct competitors openly collaborating—may be the defining feature of today’s organized approach to digital assets.
The panel discussion featured Nakamoto CEO David Bailey, Capital B’s Alexandre Lysette, and Metaplanet’s Dylan Leclair, and was moderated by George Mehail of Bitcoin for Enterprises.
Bailey began his talk by framing Bitcoin as something more like a decentralized company, arguing that the rising valuations of its peers are lifting the broader ecosystem rather than cannibalizing it. He noted that UTXO Management’s investments in both Capital B and Metaplanet are concrete expressions of that philosophy, a structure that blurs the lines between investors and collaborators.
LeClair echoed this sentiment, arguing that Bitcoin is different from almost every other industry in that participants actively share strategies and build on each other’s work. Mr. Lysette began his remarks by thanking his fellow panelists and citing them as inspiration for their company’s implementation. This is also an impressive representation at most other industry conferences.
Institutional barriers constrain Bitcoin
Despite the optimism, the committee was frank about the structural obstacles it continues to face and made clear that Bitcoin is “still in its infancy.” LeClair provided an impressive data point. He estimated that 99% of institutional capital currently does not have access to Bitcoin or Bitcoin ETFs due to mandated restrictions that limit many funds to fixed income or specific asset classes.
For LeClair, that constraint is what makes this moment so premature, and why infrastructure, not ideology, is the central challenge.
He described hyperbitcoinization not as a singular breakthrough event, but as a slow building process that requires institutional plumbing such as custodial solutions, compliant products, and regulatory clarity.
He credited Michael Saylor with identifying a gap in traditional finance and starting to address it, pushing back on what he called the paradox: Bitcoiners expecting extreme price appreciation while at the same time rejecting the institutional investors that make such valuations possible.
Bailey reinforced that framework by noting that only a few hundred companies currently have Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and that Strategy is still in the early stages of charting a path that other companies are only beginning to follow. He argued that ultimately all economic actors need to be involved in Bitcoin, and any view that excludes some participants goes against the fundamental characteristics of the Bitcoin asset.
“To achieve hyperbitcoinization…every economic entity in the world will need to use Bitcoin,” Bailey said.
Reise described Capital B’s approach as one designed to meet institutional investors where they are. He highlighted BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETP and the company’s growing roster of institutional clients as examples of European investors gaining meaningful Bitcoin exposure through compliant channels.
He said that for customers who cannot directly tolerate Bitcoin’s volatility, digital credit products offer an alternative route, a structured product that provides exposure without the need for full price risk.
Reise was particularly bullish about the financial services class that is being built around Bitcoin, arguing that holders will increasingly need institutions to finance their Bitcoin positions, giving them access to funds without being forced to sell. He framed this as a matter of respect for property. Users want a financial partner that treats Bitcoin as collateral worth holding, rather than something to be liquidated at the first opportunity, he said.
Bitcoin is penetrating traditional finance
Bailey offered perhaps the sharpest rhetorical shift on the panel when discussing the relationship between Bitcoin and legacy finance. He argued that because Bitcoin’s underlying technology is immutable, financial institutions, including BlackRock, cannot change its nature. According to him, this dynamic is only moving in one direction: “Bitcoin will change BlackRock.”
He acknowledged the growing gulf within traditional finance between institutions that embrace Bitcoin and those that resist it, describing advocates as “barbarians at the gate.”
This chasm, he argued, makes it urgent to build a large institutional investor base that can influence policy and shape the rules of the financial system in Bitcoin’s favor.
Bailey suggested that current critics of BlackRock’s involvement will face a more formidable challenge once central banks, including the Federal Reserve, begin acquiring Bitcoin.
Moderator Mekail added context to the timeline, noting that Bitcoin for Enterprise exists to support companies as they move past this entry point, warning that the window for truly early stages of the enterprise adoption cycle is narrowing faster than many realize.
