Bloomberg Businessweek: Evolving Money — Diversifying with Digital Assets
Date: March 29, 2026
Host: Angie Lau (with guests Omid Malikin and Cosmo Jiang)
Episode Theme: How institutional investors are adapting to and diversifying with digital assets—with a deep dive on Bitcoin’s evolving role, blockchain protocols beyond Bitcoin, and the increasing risk of not being exposed to this asset class.

Episode Overview

This episode explores the evolving landscape of digital assets within institutional portfolios. Host Angie Lau speaks with Wall Street veteran and academic Omid Malikin to examine how Bitcoin's unique characteristics differ from traditional assets like gold. The conversation then shifts to Cosmo Jiang, partner at Pantera Capital, who expands the discussion beyond Bitcoin, covering blockchain applications and the growing necessity for digital asset exposure in professional investment arenas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bitcoin’s Identity Crisis: More Than Digital Gold?

Guest: Omid Malikin, Wall Street veteran and Columbia Business School adjunct professor

• Bitcoin as a Growing Asset:
  Omid likens Bitcoin to "a child growing up,” pointing to its various developmental phases and evolving behaviors.

  • "I think of bitcoin almost as like a child growing up. And you know how kids go through different phases of life... We're definitely in one of those transitional phases now." (B, 00:23)

• Questioning the 'Digital Gold' Narrative:
  Omid challenges the idea of Bitcoin as digital gold, emphasizing its transportability and universal payment infrastructure.

  • "Gold is notoriously difficult to store and even harder to transact... With bitcoin... you can zap it around the world within minutes to anybody that has access to the Internet, that is a very unique kind of asset." (B, 02:37)
  • Traditional stores of value like gold are contrasted with Bitcoin’s “plumbing” (i.e., transactional utility).

• Geopolitical Relevance:
  Citing the example of Ukraine, Omid illustrates how Bitcoin is practically more secure and transportable in times of conflict than gold.

  • “If the government would have had to flee and go rule in exile... with bitcoin and other crypto assets, all the people in charge... would have to do is take a private key... that would now give them billions of dollars in purchasing power..." (B, 04:30)

2. De-Dollarization and Nation-State Interest

• Shift Away from USD Reserves:
  Omid notes a trend of de-dollarization, with countries looking to diversify reserves into alternatives like gold and, increasingly, Bitcoin.
  • "All of these trends are now going in the opposite direction... it's recognized that we are in a period of de dollarization... bitcoin thing is very easy to acquire, very easy to transact." (B, 06:11)

3. Behavioral Profile of Bitcoin

• Correlation with Other Assets:
  Bitcoin’s behavior has shifted over time—sometimes acting as a safe haven, but often uncorrelated to both gold and equities.

  • "Bitcoin has gone through multiple phases... The correlations have completely broken down now. So Bitcoin is not correlated with stocks right now. It's not correlated with gold..." (B, 08:03)

• Long-term Perspective:
  Omid views Bitcoin as monetary insurance—its value as a diversifier grows over multi-year periods rather than during short-term volatility.

  • "Over intermediate to longer time horizons, markets can be very noisy in the short term. But I do believe... Bitcoin did start to act more like an insurance asset." (B, 09:36)

4. Diversifying Beyond Bitcoin: The Broader Digital Asset Landscape

Guest: Cosmo Jiang, General Partner and Portfolio Manager, Pantera Capital

• Two Main Buckets:
  Cosmo divides digital assets between Bitcoin and “everything else” (e.g., Ethereum, Solana, protocol tokens).

  • "When I do think of digital assets, I, I think about it in two large buckets. There's Bitcoin and then there's everything else, which is blockchain, the technology..." (D, 11:16)

• The Case for Blockchain Protocols and Adjacent Businesses:
  Cosmo is excited about next-generation applications like decentralized finance (DeFi) and especially the intersection of blockchain and AI.

  • "Some of the things that we're most excited about... are really a lot of the applications that are now being built on top of these base layers... things like decentralized finance... blockchain really uniquely enables AI adoption." (D, 12:24)

• Fundamental Analysis of Protocols:
  Drawing parallels with traditional equity analysis, Cosmo discusses Pantera’s use of income, cash flow, and balance sheet modeling for blockchain protocols.

  • "We have three statement models, right? We build out income statements, we build cash flow statements, we build out balance sheets..." (D, 14:18)

5. Portfolio Risk: The Shift to Mandatory Digital Asset Exposure

• Crypto in Index Benchmarks:
  With Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500, virtually ALL institutional benchmarks now have crypto exposure—meaning “zero allocation” is a risk.
  • "Every single professional investor now has blockchain exposure in their benchmark... starting last year, you are now required to think about whether you are overweight, underweight or equal weight..." (D, 15:21)

6. Valuation: Is It Too Late?

• Long-Term Bullishness:
  Cosmo remains optimistic, noting a demographic shift from gold to Bitcoin among younger cohorts, with significant growth potential remaining.
  • "Today a lot of 50 to 60 year olds... have a lot of gold. But if you look at the 23 year olds, they all own bitcoin, they don't own gold... very clear to me over a multi decade time period that brand bitcoin is going to win out." (D, 16:42)

7. Digital Assets and AI — Overexposed or Underallocated?

• AI Hype vs. Blockchain Underexposure:
  Cosmo argues that institutions may be over-indexed to AI, but have yet to catch up in blockchain exposure—predicting its eventual ubiquity in financial and technological infrastructure.
  • "I certainly think AI is going to grow tremendously over time, but they probably under indexed the next most disruptive technology today, which is blockchain... In the future, all of finance will be digital finance." (D, 18:50)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “To think about bitcoin as digital gold is to double click on the scarcity feature... But the plumbing aspects of bitcoin to me have always been just as important.” — Omid Malikin (B, 03:29)
• “When you have something that is as scarce as bitcoin is, but can zap it around the world within minutes... I actually never liked the digital gold narrative.” — Omid Malikin (B, 02:37)
• “If you're a manager... prior to Coinbase being added to the S&P 500, you had zero blockchain in your index. But all of a sudden... you are now required to think about whether you are overweight, underweight or equal weight the asset class.” — Cosmo Jiang (D, 15:21)
• “Today a lot of 50 to 60 year olds... have a lot of gold. But... the 23 year olds... all own bitcoin, they don't own gold.” — Cosmo Jiang (D, 16:42)
• “Your goal as an investor should be to try to capture the total universe of potential growth opportunities... In the future, all of finance will be digital finance.” — Cosmo Jiang (D, 18:50)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:23 — Omid Malikin compares Bitcoin’s development to human growth phases
• 02:37 — Defining Bitcoin beyond digital gold
• 04:20 — Ukraine war example: Bitcoin’s unique advantages
• 06:11 — De-dollarization and implications for central banks
• 08:03 — Bitcoin's shifting correlation with other assets
• 11:16 — Cosmo Jiang on diversification and asset class buckets
• 12:24 — The real-world applications of blockchain (DeFi, AI intersection)
• 14:18 — Using traditional financial analysis models with blockchain protocols
• 15:21 — How crypto is now in institutional benchmarks (S&P 500 inclusion)
• 16:42 — Demographic trends and why Bitcoin’s long-term value may surge
• 18:50 — Final thoughts on AI hype and blockchain catching up

Summary

• Bitcoin is evolving: It possesses unique features setting it apart from both currencies and commodities like gold—particularly in how easily it can be stored and transacted globally, making it both a payment system and a hard currency.
• Institutional adoption is intensifying, not just in Bitcoin but in broader digital assets, especially as they move into mainstream investment benchmarks.
• Blockchain protocols and adjacent businesses represent significant new areas for fundamental analysis and portfolio diversification.
• Omission is now a risk for institutional investors, given the integration of digital assets into benchmarks like the S&P 500.
• Long-term, demographic shifts and the expansion of blockchain utility (especially its connection to AI and finance) point to continued growth and increasing necessity for digital asset exposure in professional portfolios.

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