Opinion: Bitcoin Is Now More Than Just ‘Digital Gold’, It's Part of the Global Financial Infrastructure

November 1 - November 1 - As Bitcoin reaches the 16th anniversary of its whitepaper, Trust Machines' Rena Shah points out that Bitcoin is now more than just “digital gold”, it is a core component of the global financial infrastructure. 2024 will mark a key inflection point for the Bitcoin ecosystem including the expansion of Layer 2, the proliferation of Ordinals, and the accelerated entry of institutions. Layer 2 expansion, the proliferation of Ordinals, and the accelerated entry of institutions. Bitcoin ETFs driven by financial giants such as BlackRock have attracted more than $1.5 billion in inflows, signalling widespread acceptance of Bitcoin in the traditional financial system.

Meanwhile, Layer 2 networks such as Lightning and Stacks' sBTC protocol bring decentralised liquidity and greater scalability, further integrating Bitcoin into DeFi and traditional financial systems. Innovations such as BitVM and OP_Cat's programmable features are also increasing Bitcoin's application potential, expanding its use in smart contracts and digital identities.Shah believes that Bitcoin's future direction lies in its role as the core underlying structure of decentralised finance, and that Bitcoin's decentralised principles need to be adhered to in the face of the influx of institutional capital.