Jeff Park, Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management, has gone on record to suggest that recent developments at the gold market might trigger a mass exodus to Bitcoin. Notably, the Bank of England is under scrutiny for extended delivery times on physical gold, fueling renewed debate about the reliability of gold-backed assets. As a reaction, Park writes via X:

“I’m counting down the days until a logistical disaster (or outright fraud) in the physical delivery of these assets shatters the faith of even the most devout gold believers, driving them straight into Bitcoin’s arms,” Park wrote via X.

Bitcoin Over Gold

Park’s statement comes amid reports that the Bank of England, which purportedly holds around 5,000 metric tonnes of gold, has delayed deliveries from what used to be a few days to four-to-eight weeks. According to a source familiar with the matter, “The wait to withdraw bullion stored in the Bank of England’s vaults has risen from a few days to between four and eight weeks,” indicating that the central bank is “struggling to keep up with demand.”

Market observers attribute these delays to an unprecedented surge in transatlantic shipments and rising gold inventories in the United States. “People can’t get their hands on gold because so much has been shipped to New York, and the rest is stuck in the queue,” an industry executive told reporters. The central bank’s backlog has coincided with growing stockpiles on the Comex commodity exchange in New York, which has seen its gold inventory rise nearly 75%—from 533 metric tonnes to 926 metric tonnes—since November’s US election.

Park further underscored the industry’s history of logistical and fraud incidents by pointing to two notable scandals. He first mentioned the Qingdao Metal Scandal. “Here’s the hilarious story called the Qingdao Metal Scandal,” Park wrote. He recounted how traders in China reportedly used the same stockpiles of copper, aluminum, and nickel as collateral multiple times, only for it to be revealed that much of the actual metal was missing.

Park highlighted another recent case with the London Metal Exchange (LME) Nickel Fiasco. “The LME found out that some of their nickel went missing! Instead of bags of the registered metals, bags of stones arrived. Even more shocking is that this is not LME’s first nickel fraud.”

More recently, Park referenced reports that global commodities giant Trafigura discovered a shortfall of $500 million worth of fuel in Mongolia. “I already posted about this, but worth refreshing that Trafigura lost $500mm of fuel in Mongolia three months ago,” Park wrote.

Such episodes, according to Park, illustrate the vulnerability of physical commodity markets. “You can take the ‘physical’ fuel out of Mongolia,” Park added, “but you can’t take spiritual fuel of Genghis Khan out of Mongolia.”

Advocates of digital assets like Park argue that Bitcoin, often touted as a ‘hardest’’ asset on earth, sidesteps the logistical complexities that plague the physical commodities sector. Yet, paradoxically, it still faces hurdles when it comes to regulatory acceptance and ETF structures.

“Meanwhile, the hardest asset on Earth [Bitcoin] can’t even be contributed in-kind to its own beloved Bitcoin ETFs, despite having near-zero logistics costs. But sure, let’s keep pretending this system makes sense,” Park remarked.

He went on to suggest that current regulatory frameworks remain a major obstacle: “Part of why people are so worried about ‘regulation’ in crypto is because they keep putting the securities lens on the asset that doesn’t actually work. Once you put the commodities lens on as the starting point, the world all of a sudden starts to make a LOT more sense.”

While the Bank of England has not issued a formal statement on the prolonged delivery times, observers see this as another potential wedge moment for traditional gold investors. If the backlogs persist, it could stoke further skepticism about the reliability of physical gold markets. Park and others in the crypto industry see this as a turning point that may pivot attention—and capital—toward Bitcoin, which does not need physical shipments or third-party vaults.

At press time, BTC traded at $95,961.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Currently, 20 US states have active proposals to create their own Bitcoin Reserve, several of which are advancing. These bills contain legal obligations to purchase $23 billion in Bitcoin, which would fuel huge demand.

These bills may also encourage some US states to invest their pension funds in Bitcoin, adding further demand. BTC is on the cusp of a supply shock, so even a few successful bills could have a dramatic impact.

US States Want Bitcoin Reserves

Since President Trump first vowed to create a US Bitcoin Reserve, several states have attempted to develop their own BTC stockpiles. Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, assessed these proposals, looking for specific purchasing obligations contained within.

He found many and determined that they could have a real impact on Bitcoin’s price.

“We analyzed 20 state-level Bitcoin reserve bills. If enacted, they could drive $23 billion in buying, or 247,000 BTC. This sum is independent of any pension fund allocations, likely to rise if legislators move forward,” Sigel claimed.

Although President Trump created a US crypto stockpile by executive order, this doesn’t quite fulfill his campaign promise. Still, several states are trying to pass their own Bitcoin Reserves, and a few proposals have advanced quite far.

Utah’s Bitcoin Reserve bill made it through the first committee, and both Oklahoma and Arizona also reached this threshold. This afternoon, North Carolina sent its bill from the introduction stage to the Committee for Commerce and Economic Development.

If all these Bitcoin Reserve proposals are passed into law, it will have a huge impact on the price of Bitcoin. These initial proposals will demand that the relevant states purchase BTC worth $23 billion.

That doesn’t account for other assets like state pension funds, which would become entangled with these reserves in at least a few cases.

More to the point, however, this analysis only looks at the bills in isolation. If over a dozen US states are legally required to put Bitcoin in their new Reserves, it could spur demand from ordinary consumers.

Bitcoin is already on the cusp of a supply shock, which may happen before any of these bills become law. Still, they could be an atomic bomb on top of the current demand.

In short, the whole situation has explosive potential. The current supply of Bitcoin is unable to meet growing consumer demand, and up to 20 state-level Reserves could pile on.

It’s difficult to assess how many of these bills may succeed or fail, but even a few successes could be big. Most importantly, a federal Bitcoin Reserve could change the equation altogether.

The cryptocurrency market started 2025 with a surge, reaching a $3.76 trillion market cap on January 7, driven by pro-crypto U.S. policies

However, sentiment shifted sharply later in January following DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough, which triggered concerns about overvalued U.S. tech stocks and led to a broader sell-off across traditional and crypto markets, according to Crypto Street.

Despite the turbulence, the crypto market still grew by 4.3% in January, with notable gains for XRP (+47.8%), Solana (+24.7%), and Bitcoin (+11.7%). Meanwhile, Ethereum (-8.2%) and Avalanche (-9.3%) saw declines as liquidity shifted to other assets.

Key Narratives to Watch in February 2025

Regulatory and Macroeconomic Developments

• U.S. Trade Policies: Potential new tariffs could impact investor risk appetite and influence crypto prices.
• Federal Reserve Rate Decisions: With only two rate cuts expected for 2025, cautious monetary policy could slow capital inflows into speculative assets.
• Stablecoin Regulations: U.S. lawmakers are discussing compliance measures for stablecoin issuers, which could shape institutional adoption.

Crypto ETF Expansion

The U.S. now has 47 active crypto ETF filings, marking a shift beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Upcoming approvals for altcoin and memecoin ETFs could drive new liquidity into the market.

Solana’s Continued DeFi and DEX Growth

Solana has outperformed Ethereum in DEX trading volume for four consecutive months, fueled by:

• Memecoin speculation ($TRUMP, $MELANIA)
• Low fees and high transaction speeds
• Increased validator adoption and liquidity incentives

With January’s Solana-to-Ethereum DEX ratio reaching an all-time high, the key question remains: Can Solana sustain its dominance, or will Ethereum regain market share?

AI and DeFi-AI Integration

Artificial Intelligence remains the dominant crypto narrative, accounting for 44% of market discussions, surpassing memecoins (10%) and DeFi (9.7%).

While AI-related tokens saw a correction in late January, interest in AI-powered DeFi applications and on-chain trading agents is expected to grow, according to Binance’s February 2025 report.

A Volatile but Opportunity-Rich Market

As February unfolds, the crypto market faces both regulatory uncertainty and growth potential. Key factors to monitor include:

• Crypto ETF approvals
• U.S. economic policies
• DeFi activity on Solana and Ethereum
• AI’s expanding role in crypto innovation

With institutional adoption rising and new market trends emerging, traders and investors should stay alert to shifting narratives and liquidity movements in the weeks ahead.