Humans love to tell stories. A good story explains something about the world we experience, while remaining accessible and easy to understand. And so it should not be surprising that the story of Bitcoin’s rise inside institutions has been told as neat and linear.
The following opinion article was authored by Matt Luongo, the Founder and CEO of Thesis*, the venture studio behind Mezo, tBTC, and Lolli. A developer by background, he’s been building in Bitcoin since 2014 and co-founded Fold, now publicly traded on Nasdaq. Under his leadership, Thesis* has raised capital from a16z, Polychain, ParaFi, and Pantera. Mezo, his current focus, grew out of his own attempt to get a Bitcoin-backed mortgage and the realization that Bitcoin still lacks a functioning credit market. He writes and speaks on self-custody finance, Bitcoin-native lending, and what comes after CeFi.
What is actually happening on the ground is messier and far more human. Since the SEC approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, FASB moved to fair value accounting for crypto assets, and Cantor Fitzgerald launched a Bitcoin financing business, the market has become much better at letting firms own Bitcoin. It still has not learned how to lend against it well.
