Two prominent Bitcoin adoption leaders gathered on the Nakamoto Stage at the Bitcoin 2026 conference, illustrating that an unusual industry dynamic — where direct competitors openly cooperate — may be the hallmark of the current institutional push into digital assets.
The plate appeared David BaileyCEO of Nakamoto Corporation, Alexandre Lazette Of capital B, and Dylan LeClair From Metaplanet, moderated by George Mikhail of Bitcoin for Corporations.
Bailey began his talk by framing Bitcoin as something akin to a decentralized company, arguing that high valuations in peer companies lift the broader ecosystem rather than dismantle it. He pointed out UTXO Management The investments in both Capital B and Metaplanet serve as a tangible expression of that philosophy – a structure that blurs the line between investor and collaborator.
LeClair echoed this sentiment, arguing that Bitcoin is different from almost every other industry in that participants actively share strategies and build on each other’s work. Lysette opened his remarks by thanking his fellow panelists and calling them inspirational in promoting corporate adoption — language that would be eye-catching at almost any other industry conference.
Institutional barriers restrict Bitcoin
Despite the optimism, the committee was frank about the structural hurdles that remain ahead and firmly stated that Bitcoin is “still early days.” LeClair provided a startling data point: He estimated that 99% of institutional capital currently does not have access to Bitcoin funds or Bitcoin ETFs due to mandate restrictions that limit many funds to fixed income or specific asset classes.
For Leclerc, this limitation is precisely what makes the current moment so early – and why infrastructure, not ideology, is the main challenge.
He described the Bitcoin surge not as a single hacking event but as a slow building process that required institutional solutions — custodial solutions, compliant products, and regulatory clarity.
It is credit Michael Saylor Identifying this gap in traditional finance and setting out to address it, he pushed back on what he called the paradox: Bitcoin holders anticipating a significant price rise while simultaneously rejecting the institutional involvement that would make such valuations possible.
Bailey reinforced this framework, noting that only a few hundred companies currently hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and that this strategy is still a work in progress. Early stages of charting A path that others are only just beginning to follow. He said that every economic actor will eventually need to engage with Bitcoin, and that any view that excludes a subset of participants flies in the face of the fundamental properties of the asset.
“For a Bitcoin surge to happen, every economic agent in the world will have to use Bitcoin,” Bailey said.
Laizet explained Capital B’s approach as one designed to meet institutional investors where they are. He highlighted BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETP and the company’s growing list of institutional clients as prime examples of European investors who have gained meaningful exposure to Bitcoin through compliant channels.
For clients unable to take Bitcoin’s volatility directly, he said digital credit products offer an alternative path — regulated instruments that provide exposure without the need for full price risk.
Laizet has been notably bullish on the financial services layer being built around Bitcoin, arguing that holders will increasingly need institutions willing to provide loans against their Bitcoin positions – allowing access to capital without forcing a sale. He framed this as a matter of respect for the asset: users want financial partners who treat Bitcoin as a security worth holding, not one to be liquidated at the first opportunity, he said.
Bitcoin is creeping into traditional finance
Bailey provided perhaps the committee’s sharpest rhetorical turn in discussing Bitcoin’s relationship with legacy finance. He said that because Bitcoin’s underlying technology is immutable, no financial institution – incl Black Rock – It can change its properties. The dynamic only goes in one direction: “Bitcoin is changing BlackRock,” he said.
He acknowledged a growing gap within traditional finance between institutions that embrace Bitcoin and those that resist it, describing its advocates as “barbarians at the gate.”
He said that this division makes it urgent to build a large base of institutional investors capable of influencing policy and shaping the rules of the financial system in favor of Bitcoin.
Bailey suggested that critics of BlackRock’s involvement today will face a greater challenge when central banks, including the Federal Reserve, start acquiring bitcoin.
Mikhail, the moderator, added context to the timeline, noting that enterprise bitcoin exists to support companies navigating this entry point — and cautioning that the window to be truly early in the enterprise adoption cycle is narrowing faster than many realize.
