Bitcoin’s price just hit an all-time high at $124,688, pushing its market cap past $2.47 trillion. As Wall Street debates whether it’s a risk-on or risk-off asset, BlackRock says it’s something else entirely.

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing out of the way. Bitcoin is not a currency in the way that the dollar or peso is and it is unlikely to ever become a currency in the way that some advocates imagine it to be.

A decentralized means of exchange is a lovely democratic idea, but no government (left or right) seems to prefer a decentralized currency to run its books, which would reduce the government’s power over both monetary and fiscal policy.

A good example is the Great Depression. In 1931, the U.S. experienced of the worst financial crisis in history. But, unlike today, the Fed’s hands were mostly tied. It couldn’t print more dollars to prop up the economy because the currency was linked to gold.

So President Franklin Roosevelt passed Executive Order 6102, later dubbed the “Great Confiscation.” In short, it........

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