New Bitcoin Book Weighs Both Sides of the Coin

Eric Balchunas remembers exactly where he was when bitcoin finally got his attention. In the summer of 2023, he was pushing his kid on a swing at a kiddie park in Cape May, New Jersey. Scrolling his phone, he saw BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) had filed for a bitcoin ETF.Key Takeaways: BlackRock’s private bitcoin trust struggled to find investors until a $10 million check from SkyBridge Capital arrived. Gold and bitcoin finish close to even in the book’s head-to-head, and Balchunas said he wouldn’t change the score. Most of the recent drop in bitcoin ETF assets came from falling prices rather than investors pulling money out. Over the next 18 months, the Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst studied bitcoin, according to the book’s opening note. The result is “Both Sides of the Coin,” written with colleague James Seyffart and out Tuesday from Harriman House. In the book, Balchunas calls himself the “tourist” and Seyffart the “native.” Seyffart’s first brush came in 2011, when a college classmate’s mining software fried his laptop before finals. Their timing is hard to beat. Spot bitcoin ETFs grew to $150 billion in their first 18 months, according to the book. They also absorbed 1.4 million bitcoin, about 7% of all supply. That makes the book less a crypto manifesto than an analyst’s guide to how the currency reached brokerage accounts. Neither author offers investment advice, noting their roles at Bloomberg don’t allow it. They also acknowledge where the book leans. “While this book leans positive, we wanted to make sure to present the risks and let the reader be the jury,” they write. In an interview ahead of the release, Balchunas said the bear case is strongest on security. He compared bitcoin to “a tank” that trades speed for safety. That makes a threat from quantum computing or AI the biggest risk, though he sees low odds of it. His second concern comes from the index fund devotee in him. Unlike a stock, the currency has no cash flows, meaning no dividends or earnings growth. “It’s really just based on sentiment and it’s more of a psychological asset,” Balchunas said.Inside BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF PushThe book is at its best when the authors are on home turf. One chapter retraces how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink went from calling bitcoin an “index of money laundering” to backing an ETF. That effort produced the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT ), and the authors lay it out in 10 steps. A private bitcoin trust code-named “Trust 91” drew little early interest, according to the book. Then a $10 million check from Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital became the first outside money in a BlackRock bitcoin product. Without that backing, the authors write, the ETF “likely would never have got off the ground.” Even then, the January 2023 pitch to BlackRock’s management committee won support “although barely.” Nor do the authors romanticize Fink’s change of heart. “Larry Fink’s about-face on bitcoin was thus likely driven as much by revenue potential as it was about him buying into the mission of bitcoin. But so what?” they write. A later chapter doubles as a buyer’s guide that applies to nearly any ETF, from fees to trading costs to custodians. Asked how to choose among roughly a dozen spot bitcoin funds, Balchunas said investors are in good shape. “The good news is you really can’t go wrong with the eight or nine originals. They’re all between 15 and 25 basis points,” he said. For long-term holders, he’d focus on the lowest expense ratio, or annual fee. Shorter-term investors should lean on liquidity, he said. He’s less sold on bitcoin futures ETFs, which predate the spot funds and cost more to run. “I don’t know if I see a reason for bitcoin futures to exist anymore,” Balchunas said.How Bitcoin Measures Up Against GoldA chapter titled “Store of Value Smackdown” pits bitcoin against gold category by category. Gold wins on its 5,000-year track record, lower volatility and diversification, according to the book. Bitcoin takes portability, storage and taxes, leaving the contest close to even. U.S. gold ETFs have since pulled about $178 billion ahead of bitcoin ETFs in assets, based on the book’s May data. Still, Balchunas said he wouldn’t change the score. “It’s like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson,” he said of the matchup. His one worry for gold mirrors bitcoin’s quantum risk. New technology, such as asteroid mining, could someday dilute its supply, he said. That matchup also brings in the book’s most famous skeptic. Jack Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group, told investors to avoid bitcoin “like the plague.” Vanguard later barred spot bitcoin ETFs from its brokerage for almost two years before reversing in December 2025, the authors note. Balchunas, who wrote “The Bogle Effect,” said Bogle wouldn’t have liked the reversal. Being a Boglehead kept Balchunas from going all in on crypto, or getting “completely orange-pilled,” he said.Bitcoin ETF Holders Hold Their GroundThe book also arrives after a rough stretch. U.S. bitcoin ETF assets slid from $169 billion in October 2025 to $109 billion in May, the book’s data shows. About 90% of that drop came from falling prices, Balchunas said. Cumulative net inflows peaked near $62 billion before dipping to about $53 billion, so roughly $9 billion left. They’ve since recovered to about $59 billion. “In ETF categories, taking money in when the sun is shining isn’t hard. It’s how much can you not lose when it’s raining?” he said. Rising stocks helped, since bitcoin is usually a small slice of a portfolio that was still up overall, Balchunas added. Gold’s ETFs faced a similar test early on. “Gold had a drawdown early in its career, 40% and it lost a third of the assets,” Balchunas said. “So bitcoin held up better than gold.” That kind of patience is what the book asks of readers, too. It makes no price call, aiming instead to help them avoid regret. “If you decide you don’t want to invest and bitcoin hits $1 million a coin, you won’t be tortured, because you made an educated decision not to invest,” the authors write. The one-page conclusion congratulates readers for finishing “a marathon,” and the acknowledgments note early drafts ran about twice as long. Among those first readers was Balchunas’ mother, who once called bitcoin “funny money in space.” She was open to learning more, he writes, as long as it was on a level she and her friends could understand. 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