The debate around Bitcoin as a long-term store of value has entered a new and more serious phase. This time, the concern isn’t regulation, price volatility, or macro tightening — it’s technology itself.
Christopher Wood, Global Equity Strategy Head at Jefferies, has made a decisive move by removing Bitcoin entirely from his model portfolio. This wasn’t a small trim. Bitcoin previously represented a meaningful 10% allocation, signaling strong conviction. Now, that allocation is gone.
What triggered such a shift? Quantum computing.
Wood has openly stated that the accelerating pace of quantum computing development poses a potential future threat to Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundations. While this risk may not be immediate, long-term investors — especially pension funds and retirement portfolios — cannot afford to ignore even low-probability, high-impact scenarios. Bitcoin’s security is built on cryptographic assumptions that could, in theory, be challenged if quantum computing reaches a certain threshold of practical power.
From Wood’s perspective, this introduces uncertainty that doesn’t align with the core objective of capital preservation for conservative, long-horizon investors.
📊 Performance Isn’t the Issue
It’s important to note: this decision is not a critique of Bitcoin’s historical returns. Since Bitcoin was added to the portfolio in December 2020, it has surged approximately 325%, dramatically outperforming gold, which gained around 145% over the same period. By any performance metric, Bitcoin delivered.
However, markets are forward-looking. Wood’s concern is not about what Bitcoin has done, but about what risks it may face over the next decade.
🟡 Capital Rotation: From Digital to Physical Safety
The removed Bitcoin allocation wasn’t sidelined into cash. Instead, it was strategically reallocated:
• 5% into physical gold
• 5% into gold mining equities
This reflects a broader shift toward assets with long-established defensive characteristics. Rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing global fragmentation, and technological unknowns are reviving gold’s traditional role as a hedge against systemic risk. Unlike digital assets, gold does not rely on cryptography, networks, or software assumptions. Its value proposition is simple — scarcity, durability, and historical trust.
🧠 The Bigger Picture for Crypto Investors
This move does not mean Bitcoin is “dead” or obsolete. Instead, it highlights a growing distinction between high-growth speculative assets and ultra-long-term capital preservation tools. Bitcoin may continue to thrive as a hedge against fiat debasement and monetary expansion, but institutional allocators are increasingly forced to model tail risks — even those that seem distant today.
For retail investors and traders, this is a reminder:
• Different portfolios have different objectives
• Time horizon matters more than narratives
• Risk isn’t just volatility — it’s uncertainty
🔍 Final Thought
Bitcoin remains one of the best-performing assets of the last decade. But as technology evolves and macro risks deepen, portfolio strategies are becoming more nuanced. The conversation is shifting from “How high can it go?” to “What could break it — even if that risk is years away?”
That question alone is enough to reshape billion-dollar portfolios.
