Bitcoin is no longer a currency. It is a test of power. And the world's major blocs are treating it exactly that way.
- The US is playing on accumulation. Europe is playing on compliance. China is playing on architecture. And in a world where everything is becoming digital, the one who builds the infrastructure doesn't need to raise his voice. He lets others speak.
Bitcoin has become, without wanting to, an instrument to measure geopolitical ambitions. It is no longer just a digital currency, no longer just a speculative asset, no longer just a story for investors. It is a kind of reflector that shows, very clearly, how the great powers are repositioning themselves in a world that no longer has a stable center. And the way the US, the EU and China relate to Bitcoin says more about them than all the official speeches put together.
There is a kind of silent competition around Bitcoin, but it is not the kind of competition you see in the headlines. The US treats it as a strategic asset, the EU treats it as a risk, and China… China doesn’t even bother to enter the discussion. And that says it all.
The Americans quickly understood that Bitcoin is no longer a market game. They moved it to the national security zone, placed it next to critical resources, turned it into an instrument of influence. It’s not about yield, it’s about power. When a superpower decides to accumulate something, it doesn’t do it for quarterly profit, but for strategic advantage. And Bitcoin, for all its volatility, offers exactly that: a long-term asset in a world that is fragmenting.
Europe, on the other hand, seems stuck in an endless debate. It regulates, adjusts, consults, postpones. The digital euro is another idea that keeps coming back to the discussion table, but without taking shape. Brussels functions as a mechanism that is afraid of making a mistake, so it prefers not to do anything decisive. While the US is accumulating, the EU is checking forms. The difference in pace is visible and, worse, is becoming structural.
And then there is China. The player who does not rush, does not explain, does not justify himself. China does not want to win the Bitcoin battle — it wants to win the infrastructure on which the entire digital financial system will move. It has already built the digital yuan, tested it, implemented it, integrated it into the domestic ecosystem. While others are discussing the future, China is running it in production.
Moreover, it controls almost everything that means mining hardware, data centers, supply chains. It does not need to own Bitcoin to influence Bitcoin. It is enough to control the field on which others play. While the US buys and the EU regulates, China builds the infrastructure. And whoever controls the infrastructure does not need to win any battles — it lets others fight over the trophy, while it builds the stadium.
- The financial world is changing faster than governments can keep up, and Bitcoin has become a kind of mirror in which great powers see their own reflections. It’s not about technology, or financial freedom, or enthusiastic investors.
The bottom line is simple and inconvenient: not everyone is playing the same game. The US is playing on accumulation, Europe is playing on compliance, China is playing on architecture. And in a world where everything is going digital, the one who builds the infrastructure doesn’t need to raise his voice. He lets others speak.