Corporate Bitcoin assets have surpassed $100 billion, raising concerns among analysts that the U.S. may nationalize these holdings similar to the gold standard era.
According to Cointelegraph, by July 31, corporate-held cryptocurrency assets exceeded $100 billion, with Bitcoin (BTC) holdings amounting to 791,662, valued at approximately $93 billion, accounting for 3.98% of the circulating supply.
Analyst Willy Woo pointed out that the increasing corporate Bitcoin holdings could bring new centralization risks to the first cryptocurrency, and these developments may put Bitcoin on a 'similar path' to the gold nationalization in 1971.
Woo stated in a panel discussion at Baltic Honeybadger 2025: "If the dollar structurally weakens while China rises, the U.S. may offer opportunities to all treasury companies to centralize and convert into digital form, rather than creating a new gold standard."
"This could be 'taken away' like in 1971, and everything would return to square one."
In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon terminated the Bretton Woods system, halting the exchange of dollars for gold and ending the gold standard.
Woo stated that for Bitcoin to become the new currency standard, it must attract large capital gatekeepers to open up and invest.
Recently, institutions have accelerated their adoption, with a report on July 25 indicating that 35 listed companies each hold over 1,000 bitcoins or approximately $11.6 billion in value.
Investor podcast network and co-founder of Bitcoin venture fund Ego Death Capital, Preston Pysh, pointed out that nationalization efforts may also target whales that hold large amounts of Bitcoin.
Huge potential coexists with risks.
Despite concerns over nationalization, the growth in corporate adoption could bring about a $100 trillion market opportunity.
Woo stated that Bitcoin is currently a $2 trillion asset and is expected to grow a hundredfold over the next few decades.
Woo's prediction aligns with Blockstream co-founder and CEO Adam Back's statement that Bitcoin represents a $200 trillion market opportunity in the long run.
"This is a sustainable and scalable market of $10-20 trillion, sufficient for most listed companies to shift towards holding BTC."
