CoinShares CEO: Bitcoin as Hedge in Capital Nationalism

In a recent CoinShares commentary, CEO Jean‑Marie Mognetti wrote that global bond markets are pricing a structural regime he described using the term “Capital Nationalism,” a concept attributed to strategist Russell Napier. Mognetti said that under such a regime government bonds could lose their role as reliable portfolio hedges and that bitcoin may serve as a structural hedge.

Mognetti pointed to rising long‑term yields and shifting inflation expectations across major bond markets as evidence. He noted U.K. 10‑year yields at levels not seen in nearly 20 years and Japanese long bonds trading near 30‑year highs. French 10‑year yields have returned to levels last seen in the second quarter of 2009 while France’s private‑sector debt relative to GDP rose from about 171% to roughly 215% over the same period.

To define the regime, the commentary drew on Russell Napier’s description of a system where governments direct private credit, commercial banks finance sovereign deficits, and policy keeps real interest rates negative to reduce the real burden of debt over time. Mognetti wrote that in that environment government bonds can function as instruments of financial repression rather than safe havens.

The commentary noted large‑cap U.S. equities carry elevated valuations and may offer limited protection if a recession arrives at the same time long‑term yields rise. Mognetti wrote that such conditions could leave a gap for assets that do not depend on government balance sheets or policy choices aimed at eroding real debt burdens.

On bitcoin, the commentary described the asset as having a fixed supply schedule outside direct government control. Mognetti wrote, “Bitcoin is the only globally liquid, institutionally accessible monetary asset with a fixed supply schedule that no government can alter.” He also cited rising long‑dated inflation expectations, noting U.K. 50‑year inflation break‑evens moved from 3.17% in January to 3.40% in May.

The commentary referenced the CoinShares Bitcoin ETF (ticker BRRR), which launched in January 2024. CoinShares cited ETF holdings of about $456.2 million and an expense ratio of 0.25% for the fund.

Mognetti wrote that allocators in 2026 face portfolios built for a different interest‑rate and policy environment and recommended considering instruments that provide exposure to assets outside government control as part of portfolio construction.