Bitcoin tends to return to the conversation after a sharp move in either direction. When the price falls, the question becomes whether the original story ever held up. When it climbs, the question becomes whether one is missing out. Neither is the most useful question to ask.
The more durable questions are simpler. Is Bitcoin actually scarce? And is anyone actually using it as money? Both claims sit at the center of the case for Bitcoin, and both deserve a closer look than they usually get.
At Avion Wealth, we field versions of these questions from clients holding digital assets, often alongside a concentrated stock position or a recent liquidity event. The goal here is not to predict a price. It is to separate the parts of the story that hold up from the parts that tend to blur together.
Why the Question Is Back on the Table
Bitcoin’s price movement is what tends to renew attention on the asset. As of July 13, 2026, Bitcoin was down approximately 45 percent over the prior twelve months, according to MarketWatch. That figure is a point-in-time reference and will not reflect the price at the time you are reading this. It is offered only to explain why the topic is timely, not as a comment on where the price may go next.
A decline of that size tends to reopen the same underlying question: setting price aside, does the fundamental case hold up? That is the more useful place to spend attention.
The Scarcity Question
The scarcity argument is straightforward. There will only ever be twenty-one million Bitcoin. The supply is fixed in the protocol, and no central bank can print more. That much is true for Bitcoin itself.
What the argument tends to leave out is the rest of the category. Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency. There are thousands of them, and new ones launch continually. So, while any single coin may be capped, the broader supply of crypto assets is not constrained in the same way. The scarcity of one does not create scarcity across the category.
The distinction matters because “digital scarcity” is often described as though it applies to crypto broadly. It does not. It may apply to a specific coin’s protocol while the wider market continues to expand.
| A single coin (e.g. Bitcoin) | The cryptocurrency category | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply cap | Fixed in the protocol | No category-wide limit |
| Number of assets | One | Thousands, and counting |
| New supply | Cannot exceed the cap | New coins launch continually |
| What that means | Scarce on its own terms | Overall supply keeps expanding |
The Use Case Question
The second claim is about use. Bitcoin was introduced as a form of digital cash, a way to pay for things without a bank in the middle. So, it is fair to ask who is actually using it that way.
For everyday purchases, the honest answer is that very few people are. Transactions can be slow, and the value can move meaningfully between the moment a price is agreed and the moment payment settles. That volatility makes Bitcoin difficult to rely on as a medium of exchange. Most people who hold it are not spending it. They are holding it, in the expectation that the price rises.
That behavior points to the real distinction.
Currency or Commodity
Here is a framing that may be useful: if Bitcoin is treated as a currency, it has struggled to function as one, for the reasons above. And if it is not functioning as a currency, then it behaves more like a commodity: something bought and sold based on what someone else may pay for it later.
Neither is inherently good or bad. But they are very different things, and many people holding crypto lose track of which one they actually own. That distinction may deserve review as part of a broader look at how any single position fits within a portfolio.
The Real Story: The Technology Underneath
There is a part of this worth separating from the price entirely. Bitcoin is built on a blockchain, and the blockchain, the underlying technology, may be where the more durable, long-term value lies for individuals and for society.
The key point is that these uses are real, but almost none of them add value to Bitcoin specifically. The technology may prove important without the original coin capturing that value. Those are two separate questions, and they are easy to blur together.
A few examples illustrate the point:
- Conditional contracts. Agreements that execute automatically when their terms are met, without a middleman to enforce them. Bitcoin itself does not meaningfully support this. Other networks, such as Ethereum, were built for it.
- Record keeping without a central gatekeeper. Consider property ownership: a permanent, tamper-resistant record of who owns what. In jurisdictions with reliable courts this may sound minor. In places where records can be altered, or where the courts have been compromised, a record that no single party can quietly rewrite could be genuinely valuable.
What This Means for a Plan
None of this is a prediction about price. The point is narrower: the scarcity story is more complicated than it sounds, and the use case as everyday money remains thin.
For anyone holding a meaningful position, the practical questions are the ones worth exploring. How large is the position relative to everything else owned? How would it be treated for tax purposes if sold or gifted? And does it fit the goals the rest of the plan is built around? Those details tend to matter more than the headlines, and they are best coordinated alongside your existing legal and tax professionals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bitcoin actually scarce? Bitcoin’s own supply is capped at twenty-one million coins, fixed in its protocol. That cap applies to Bitcoin specifically, not to cryptocurrency as a category. Thousands of other coins exist and new ones launch continually, so scarcity in one coin does not create scarcity across the broader market.
Is Bitcoin used as everyday money? For most people, no. Transaction speed and price volatility make it difficult to use reliably as a medium of exchange, and most holders treat it as something to hold rather than spend. This is why it is often discussed as behaving more like a commodity than a currency.
What is the difference between Bitcoin and blockchain? Blockchain is the underlying record-keeping technology; Bitcoin is one asset built on it. Some uses of blockchain, such as conditional contracts and tamper-resistant record keeping, are supported more by other networks like Ethereum than by Bitcoin. The technology’s potential value and any single coin’s value are separate questions.
How does holding Bitcoin affect my financial plan? The practical considerations are position size relative to the rest of a portfolio, the tax treatment if the asset is sold or gifted, and whether the holding fits the plan’s broader goals. These are best reviewed alongside your existing legal and tax professionals.
A Complimentary Second Look
For those holding a concentrated or unfamiliar position, including digital assets, Avion Wealth offers a complimentary Second Opinion Service focused on how that holding may fit within a coordinated wealth strategy. It is an offer of perspective, not a prompt to act.
To your success,
The Avion Wealth Team
Sources
- Bitcoin twelve-month price change (approximately -45 percent as of July 13, 2026): MarketWatch, BTC/USD. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/cryptocurrency/btcusd