New York — Bitcoin may be locked in a tough market right now, but long-term investors should look far ahead, according to Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera Capital.
“In 10 years, bitcoin will outperform gold by a wide margin. That’s very obvious,” Morehead said during a panel with Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) President Tom Lee at the Ondo Summit in New York on Tuesday.
“Paper money is debased by 3% every year, and that’s called stablecoin,” Morehead said. “Now, over a lifetime, that’s 90%,” he continued. “So it is completely rational to invest in something with a fixed quantity, like gold or bitcoin.”
While Bitcoin and gold trade in cycles, Morehead noted, investors’ attention tends to rotate. “Gold has gotten a head start, but they alternate,” he said, adding that total ETF inflows into the two assets have been about equal over the past few years.
Equally optimistic Tom Lee threw some shade at the four-year cycle, which some believe is behind the current downturn. “I don’t think it’s a four-year cycle,” he said, citing divergent metrics like Ethereum’s. the surge in activity and accelerated deleveraging that occurred during the crypto crash of October 2025. “That was a larger wipeout than November 2022,” Lee argued.
Morehead also said that institutional exposure to crypto remains minimal, despite recent developments such as the launch of Bitcoin ETFs. “All these $100 billion alternative companies don’t have any bitcoin or crypto, and that’s why I’m still so bullish,” he said. “You can’t have a bubble when the median holding of institutional investors… is literally 0.0. »
According to Morehead, the reasons that once kept large institutions apart are disappearing. “The list of reasons to say no to crypto was very long… They are almost all crossed off,” he said, pointing to improved custody options and regulatory clarity.
He argued that blockchain’s 80% annual returns over 12 years and low correlation to stocks make it a rare asset class that offers both high growth and portfolio diversification. “There has never been a better asset class in history.”
Lee agreed that blockchain infrastructure is gradually integrating into the financial system. “I think crypto is starting to become an invisible part of everyone’s lives,” he said, citing stablecoins, tokenized assets and crypto-powered neobanks as examples. “People can actually start using crypto without realizing they’re actually using it.”
When it comes to regulatory changes, both speakers said the United States is at a turning point. “It’s night and day for clarity,” Morehead said. “We’re moving from an incredibly negative point to what I would call neutral today…and I hope the United States will be neutral soon.”
Looking ahead, Morehead sees multiple catalysts, including a possible “global arms race” to acquire Bitcoin among U.S. allies and adversaries. “Countries… will realize, like China, that it’s super crazy to have 1,000 years of your savings stored in an asset that [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent can cancel. It’s crazy. It’s much smarter to buy bitcoin.
