• Stifel chief equity strategist Barry Bannister said on CNBC that Bitcoin behaved more like a speculative big tech stock than a hedge or store of value.
• Bannister said Bitcoin’s price had become increasingly dependent on Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations, warning the Fed was unlikely to ease aggressively.
• He pointed to historical drawdowns and said Bitcoin could revisit the $38,000–$40,000 range if liquidity conditions tighten.

Stifel Financial Corp’s (SF) chief equity strategist, Barry Bannister, said on Monday that Bitcoin (BTC) was not behaving like “digital gold,” but traded more like an overextended ‘big tech stock’ driven by liquidity and interest rate expectations.

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Speaking during CNBC's The Exchange program, Bannister said Bitcoin’s recent price action undermined its long-held hedge narrative. “Bitcoin is not digital gold,” he said. “Bitcoin really behaves more like a high-liquidity, speculative financial instrument, more like a big tech stock.”

The Dollar Relationship Has Broken

Bannister pointed to a shift in how Bitcoin reacts to macro signals. Bitcoin tended to rise when the U.S. dollar weakened. He substantiated by saying, “For 15 years, Bitcoin would go up when the dollar went down. Now the dollar goes down, and Bitcoin also goes down with it.”

He also framed Bitcoin as a liquidity-driven trade rather than a defensive asset. “Crypto, for the most part, is a bet on the oblivion of the dollar,” he said. “It’s kind of a libertarian dream, but I don’t think the dollar is going away.”

Higher-For-Longer Interest Rates Could Pressure Crypto

Bannister added that Bitcoin’s performance had become increasingly tied to expectations around Federal Reserve policy. “It’s behaving more like an overextended tech stock that’s worried about whether the Fed will cut rates,” Bannister said, adding that he did not expect the Fed to ease policy aggressively.

He warned that if interest rates remain higher for longer, speculative assets could face renewed pressure. Bannister said historical drawdowns suggested Bitcoin could revisit the $38,000 to $40,000 range in a risk-off environment.

Retail Sentiment Remains Bearish

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading near $69,040, down by 0.3% over 24 hours. On Stockwits, the retail sentiment around BTC remained in the ‘bearish’ territory, as chatter levels around it improved from ‘extremely low’ to ‘extremely high.’

Bitcoin’s ‘Digital Gold’ Narrative Under Scrutiny

Concerns around Bitcoin’s volatility have also surfaced in regulatory discussions.

In a public comment letter filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during a Bitcoin ETF review process, market participants highlighted Bitcoin’s extreme volatility and its tendency to trade like a speculative risk asset rather than a stable store of value. The filing noted that Bitcoin’s sharp drawdowns and rapid price swings contrast with traditional hedges such as gold.

Read also: Crypto ETFs Hold Firm As Bitcoin Slides: Bitwise, GraniteShares Push Back On Panic Selling Narrative

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