Bitcoin today resembles Google in 2017
Raoul Pal drew a telling parallel: the state of Bitcoin in 2025 is similar to what was happening with Google in 2017. The company was already dominant, the network was huge, but the potential for use was only partially realized. The market saw scale, but did not yet understand its true value.
Key insights from Pal:
1. Bitcoin is a mature but undervalued network
According to Pal, the adoption of BTC is growing faster than the market can assess. It has already become a global asset used by institutions, companies, banks, and governments. But only a small part of the future impact is included in the price.
2. Ethereum is even earlier in the cycle
Pal believes that ETH has even more growth potential: the network is evolving faster, with increased adoption in fintech, stablecoins, tokenization, and the L2 ecosystem. ETH is following the path of Google at an even earlier stage — the network is growing, while the market is evaluating it very conservatively.
3. Crypto is a network business
Like Google, Meta, or Amazon, crypto assets grow through network effects. The more users, applications, transactions, liquidity, and developers there are — the higher the value of the network.
4. Metcalfe's Law as a basis for valuation
Value is not formed from company profits like in the traditional world. It grows from interactions between network participants. More nodes — more connections — exponential growth in value.
5. The main fuel is mass adoption
Network effects work when the number of participants increases. More users — more transactions, more products, more developers — higher value of the network. And this is exactly what is happening now with BTC and ETH.
Raoul Pal is one of the most influential macro analysts, former head of the Goldman Sachs hedge fund, and co-founder of Real Vision. He popularized the concept of 'banana zones' — phases of rapid growth that coincide with liquidity cycles. His view is simple: Bitcoin has already become a global network, but the market evaluates it as if we are still in the early stages.
