Inside Bitwise’s bet on the debasement trade with Bitcoin-gold ETF

Despite underperforming gold for the past few months, asset managers still believe that Bitcoin is a hedge against currency devaluation and fiscal debt. 

And this belief has led Bitwise to unveil a combined Bitcoin gold ETF – Bitwise Proficio Currency Debasement ETF (BPRO). This is meant to offer investors exposure to the so-called “debasement trade.”

The trade is a narrative that the demand for safe havens like gold, silver, and Bitcoin will increase as U.S fiscal debts and subsequent currency devaluation slash purchasing power and wealth. 

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan echoed the same, adding that this “hard asset approach” is the missing piece in the portfolio. Especially since traditional stocks and ETFs haven’t helped preserve wealth amid rapid money supply expansion. He added, 

Bitwise’s BTC-gold ETF hits $13M on day 1

The firm highlighted that U.S debt increased to close to $40 trillion, and the U.S dollar’s purchasing power dropped by 40% over the past two decades – Reinforcing currency ‘debasement’ as a real risk. 

Bitwise’s move came a few days after rival asset manager 21Shares launched a similar product.

The BPRO product saw $13.2 million in trading volume and $52.4 million in assets under management (AUM) on day 1, underscoring interest in the “debasement trade.”

In fact, the asset manager’s latest survey showed that alternative hedges against fiat debasement ranked second among the areas institutional investors were most interested in, after stablecoins. 

Put differently, the push for a combined BTC and gold ETF or “debasement trade” isn’t just media hype. There is data supporting it. 

BTC-gold correlation falters

Here, it’s worth pointing out that the current short-term correlation between BTC and gold doesn’t align with the data.

Over the past year, gold has rallied by 78% while BTC dropped by 14%. Other perceived safe havens such as silver have also soared by 200% – Making BTC a key laggard. 

It is unclear whether the negative correlation will continue in 2026. However, this decoupling occurred after the 10 October 2025, crash, pushing the correlation into negative territory in late 2025. 

So far in 2026, an attempt to flip the correlation back to positive has failed. Especially after BTC slid lower while gold climbed higher amid this week’s geopolitical tensions and Japan’s bond crisis. 

Final Thoughts

• Bitwise and 21Shares are betting big on the debasement trade and have unveiled a combined BTC and gold ETF as an alternative hedge. 
• Gold-BTC correlation tried to flip to positive, but the recent macro landscape derailed the momentum.