If Bitcoin isn’t ‘crypto,’ what makes it different?

Bitcoin is not “crypto”

An X station from Jack Dorsey revived an aged question: Is Bitcoin portion of “crypto” oregon a class of its own?

On Oct. 19, 2025, Jack Dorsey posted 3 words connected X: “bitcoin is not crypto.” The station rapidly drew attraction crossed the level and successful media coverage. It reflected a presumption helium has agelong maintained, that Bitcoin should beryllium regarded arsenic money with its ain rules and history, not included successful the broader token market.

Source: Jack Dorsey

Dorsey argues that Bitcoin (BTC) belongs successful a abstracted category. It was launched without a instauration oregon premine and is governed conservatively. The web is designed for payments and savings, dissimilar smart contract platforms and app tokens that germinate rapidly and service aggregate usage cases.

Let’s unpack the argument.

To recognize why, it helps to look astatine however Bitcoin’s design, governance and regularisation disagree from the remainder of the crypto world.

Did you know? El Salvador became the archetypal state to follow Bitcoin arsenic ineligible tender. The instrumentality was passed connected June 9, 2021, and took effect connected Sept. 7, 2021.

Monetary argumentation and issuance: Fixed rules vs. flexible argumentation

Starting with supply, Bitcoin’s issuance follows a fixed schedule, portion astir different networks dainty proviso arsenic a tunable feature.

New coins are issued arsenic block rewards, which halve astir each 210,000 blocks until the full proviso reaches 21 cardinal BTC. The 4th halving occurred astatine artifact 840,000 successful April 2024, reducing the reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Each simplification makes miners beryllium much connected transaction fees and little connected caller issuance.

Changing Bitcoin’s issuance would necessitate overwhelming societal statement among users moving nodes, allowing investors to exemplary proviso years successful advance. That predictability remains a halfway portion of its “store-of-value” appeal.

Most different networks attack monetary argumentation arsenic a plan choice. Take Ethereum, for example: Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559 introduced a base-fee pain that reduces nett issuance erstwhile request is high, and the Merge update shifted the web to proof-of-stake (PoS), lowering gross issuance. Together, these changes make a proviso exemplary that adjusts dynamically with web activity.

That flexibility tin heighten the idiosyncratic acquisition and alteration caller features, portion Bitcoin’s rigidity is meant to sphere monetary credibility.

Consensus and information budgets: PoW minimalism vs. PoS upgrade velocity

How a blockchain secures itself shapes everything that follows. Bitcoin pays for information with work, portion proof-of-stake (PoS) systems wage with stake.

On Bitcoin, miners usage vigor to adhd blocks, and afloat nodes enforce a small, blimpish acceptable of rules. Its scripting connection is intentionally elemental and not Turing-complete. Fewer moving parts mean less chances for things to break, which is wherefore base-layer changes are uncommon and cautiously limited.

As the artifact reward continues to halve, miner gross gradually shifts from caller coins to transaction fees — Bitcoin’s semipermanent “security budget.” That raises important questions for the future, specified arsenic however incentives volition clasp up during low-fee periods. It besides shows wherefore surges successful enactment that propulsion fees higher, on with dependable usage connected layers similar Lightning Network, substance for miner economics.

Many crypto platforms, astir notably Ethereum, usage PoS. Validators fastener up Ether (ETH), gain rewards for proposing and attesting to blocks and tin beryllium penalized for misbehavior. This exemplary has allowed quicker upgrades: The Merge successful 2022 switched to PoS, Shapella (2023) enabled withdrawals and EIP-4844 (2024) reduced information costs for rollups.

Bitcoin prioritizes security, stableness and minimal alteration astatine its basal layer, portion astir PoS networks stress faster upgrades and higher throughput.

Did you know? A 2010 bug concisely created 184 cardinal BTC earlier the concatenation was rolled backmost successful a 53-block reorganization. The “value overflow” incidental remains Bitcoin’s largest reorg. The second-largest occurred successful 2013 during a bundle incompatibility betwixt versions 0.7 and 0.8 and spanned 24 blocks.

Governance and culture: “Ossify vs. optimize” successful signifier

Who changes the rules, however rapidly and however safely? Bitcoin evolves dilatory by design, portion app-focused chains prioritize velocity and flexibility.

Bitcoin changes dilatory by design. Proposals statesman arsenic Bitcoin Improvement Proposals, acquisition nationalist statement and lone proceed erstwhile developers, miners and node operators broadly awesome support. There is nary onchain ballot oregon instauration directing decisions. Upgrades are typically shipped arsenic brushed forks, preserving compatibility for older nodes.

The Taproot upgrade utilized the “Speedy Trial” signalling mechanism successful 2021, achieving lock-in successful June and activating astatine artifact 709,632 connected Nov. 14, 2021. The drawn-out process gave developers, miners and node operators clip to coordinate and trim activation risk. That cadence (few changes, tons of deliberation) is what radical mean by Bitcoin “ossifying.”

Smart declaration platforms instrumentality the other approach. Ethereum introduces changes done the EIP process, pursuing a dependable merchandise rhythm — e.g., post-Merge withdrawals and proto-danksharding to trim information costs.

Different aim, antithetic tempo: Bitcoin protects monetary credibility done blimpish edits, portion app-focused chains stress delivering caller features and maintaining developer activity.

Did you know? A important stock of BTC whitethorn beryllium mislaid forever. Chainalysis-based estimates suggest astir 2.3 million-3.7 cardinal BTC is permanently mislaid — a double-digit percent of the 21 cardinal proviso cap.

What runs connected top: Payments vs. general-purpose apps

Bitcoin keeps the basal furniture small: unspent transaction output (UTXO) accounting, a constricted stack-based publication (intentionally not Turing-complete) and comparatively humble logic beyond that.

Much of Bitcoin’s outgo enactment is moving to second-layer networks specified arsenic the Lightning Network. It uses bidirectional channels and Hash Time Locked Contracts (HTLCs) to way instant, low-fee payments without changing base-layer rules. Everyday transactions hap offchain, portion colony remains anchored to the main network.

Smart declaration platforms instrumentality the other approach. Ethereum supports rich, stateful contracts connected its furniture 1 and encourages composability — decentralized concern (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and onchain games gathering connected apical of 1 another. This attack enables faster experimentation but depends connected a flexible, regularly upgraded basal layer.

Bitcoin inactive experiments astatine the edges. The motorboat of Ordinals and Runes astir the 2024 halving pushed fees to grounds highs, boosting miner gross and providing a real-world trial of fee-driven security. Crucially, nary of it changed Bitcoin’s monetary rules oregon minimalist layer-1 design. The signifier holds: Keep the basal unchangeable and fto caller enactment turn connected apical oregon alongside.

Market operation and what it means: BTC’s abstracted bucket

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options and travel information suggest that institutions dainty Bitcoin otherwise from the remainder of the crypto market.

On Jan. 10, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved regularisation changes allowing exchanges to database and commercialized spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). The decision brought BTC to mainstream venues, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca, Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe).

These are the aforesaid platforms utilized by brokerages, registered concern advisers (RIAs) and pension funds. Whatever you telephone the plus class, status and wealthiness platforms present person a dedicated lane for Bitcoin.

Market infrastructure expanded from there. By precocious 2024, US regulators had approved options connected spot Bitcoin ETFs and Cboe launched scale options tied to a handbasket of those funds. In short, it’s hazard transportation and terms find utilizing tools that institutions already recognize — thing astir tokens inactive lack.

The travel information made that displacement clear. Throughout 2024 and 2025, creations and redemptions successful the caller funds became a regular fixture, with dashboards tracking assets and nett flows. Investors were gaining Bitcoin vulnerability done accepted wrappers alternatively than crypto-native venues.

Policy signals constituent successful the aforesaid direction. US derivatives regulators person agelong classified Bitcoin arsenic a commodity. In 2025, unit from the US SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission noted that registered exchanges could facilitate trading successful definite spot commodity crypto products.

Taken together, the organisation channels, hedging tools, travel reporting and regulatory labels marque a beardown lawsuit for Jack’s “bitcoin is not crypto” argument. Markets person already enactment it successful a abstracted bucket.