Bitcoin Fundamentally Decoupled From US Tech Stocks, BlackRock's Jay Jacobs Says

Bitcoin BTC/USD should be viewed as an asset uncorrelated to U.S. tech assets over the long term, according to Jay Jacobs, U.S. Head of Equity ETFs at BlackRock BLK.

What Happened: Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Jacobs emphasized that Bitcoin's performance is being driven by different macroeconomic forces than traditional equities.

"The long-term correlation between U.S. stocks and Bitcoin is more like 0.2 or 0.3," he said. "It's a lowly correlated asset."

Jacobs explained that while short-term volatility may cause different assets to move in sync, Bitcoin has shown a tendency to behave differently over time, particularly during periods of global instability.

"Bitcoin thrives when you have more uncertainty and are looking for something that's going to behave differently," he said.

He added that prolonged macro uncertainty, including unresolved tariff disputes and shifting global trade policies, could weaken traditional assets like stocks, bonds and the U.S. dollar.

"If this is the trajectory of greater uncertainty around the world, things like gold and Bitcoin should continue to go up," Jacobs said. "People are looking for those assets that will behave differently."

Also Read: ARK’s Bitcoin ‘Bear Case’ Is $300,000 By 2030—What’s The Bull Case?

Why It Matters: Jacobs linked this movement to what BlackRock describes as "mega forces" reshaping global markets—including geopolitical fragmentation.

"That was the first time we really identified geopolitical fragmentation as a mega force driving the world forward over the next several decades," he said, referencing BlackRock's 2023 thematic investing framework.

Jacobs also noted the long-standing shift by central banks and sovereign players away from dollar reserves toward gold—and increasingly toward Bitcoin, as a trend years in the making.

"This switch from just holding dollars to holding gold to looking at other types of assets like Bitcoin is a trend that's been years in the making," he said.

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