A quiet but historic moment may occur that will change the way traditional markets value digital assets like Bitcoin.
For the first time, a major global rating agency has evaluated companies whose borrowing models are directly tied to BTC.
On October 27, S&P Global Ratings assigned Strategy Inc. (MSTR) a “B-” rating with a stable outlook.
Regarding this, Mathew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck, said:
“This is a high-yield area. We can service our debt for now, but we are vulnerable to shocks.”
Nevertheless, this rating indicates recognition of the company’s debt structure and Bitcoin’s role as legitimate collateral in the global credit system.
In doing so, S&P placed Bitcoin on the same analytical map as corporate bonds, sovereign debt, and commodity-backed loans. This turns what was once a theoretical concept into a rated financial reality.
Risk or opportunity?
S&P’s methodology, on the other hand, views Bitcoin primarily as a source of volatility rather than capital.
The company cited Strategic’s “high dependence on Bitcoin,” “poor capital,” and “weak dollar liquidity” as reasons for classifying it as speculative grade.
However, cryptocurrency analysts disagree with that interpretation, arguing that the model misjudges Bitcoin’s liquidity and structural resilience.
Unlike traditional corporate reserves, BTC can be exchanged instantly across jurisdictions and without bank intermediaries.
Jeff Park, chief investment officer at ProCapBTC, argued that S&P’s model underestimates Bitcoin’s liquidity and independence from the banking system.
According to him:
“To treat Bitcoin as negative capital is to ignore its incredible liquidity, independence from the rest of the financial system, and all of its hedging properties.”
Park further said that accounting and tax frameworks are already catching up to this reality. The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s ASC 820 rule allows companies to mark Bitcoin at fair value.
At the same time, the U.S. Treasury Department’s CAMT guidance allows businesses to exclude unrealized gains or losses from minimum tax calculations.
He pointed out:
“The RAC is the last of the three illogically isolated governing bodies.”
How do ratings affect Bitcoin?
Credit ratings are the gatekeepers of global finance. They decide how $130 trillion in debt capital spread across pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth portfolios allocates risk.
So a single letter upgrade or downgrade can redirect billions of dollars of capital flows overnight.
Until this month, Bitcoin had no place in that ecosystem. Most regulated investors are prohibited from holding non-confidential assets, leaving their BTC exposure primarily in stocks or ETFs.
However, Michael Saylor’s S&P assessment of Bitcoin-centric companies changes that framework.
This reclassification opens a narrow but important channel for this class of investors.
Obligation-bound institutional investors can now gain exposure to Bitcoin indirectly through issuer rated obligations backed by Bitcoin.
Although these funds do not directly hold BTC, they can hold bonds tied to BTC, thereby providing an entry point into incorporating Bitcoin into the global fabric of trust.
Therefore, if just 1% of the global bond market migrated to Bitcoin-related products, the potential inflows would equate to approximately $1.3 trillion. Notably, this is more than twice the market capitalization of Ethereum and larger than Mexico’s GDP.
Moreover, the impact extends beyond Strategy’s borrowing costs.
This rating represents the first qualification within BTC’s credit hierarchy and marks the asset’s entry into the structured finance core.
This results in three systemic effects:
- First, Bitcoin climbs the collateral ladder, joining gold and investment-grade bonds as acceptable collateral for loans and structured products.
- Second, it broadens the eligibility of institutional investors. Pension funds and credit vehicles can justify exposure to BTC-backed products based on existing regulatory obligations.
- Third, regulatory integration will accelerate as rating methodologies inform a Basel-aligned risk weighting framework, allowing Bitcoin exposure to be quantified rather than disqualified.
Together, these dynamics change the behavior of Bitcoin. Instead of trading purely on speculative momentum, they are starting to attract duration-based capital, the yield-seeking capital that stabilizes sovereign debt markets.
In that sense, S&P’s “B-” designation is less about Strategy’s solvency and more about its recognition of Bitcoin’s functionality as collateral. This marks the point at which volatility begins to be expressed through yield spreads rather than sentiment.
As more rated issuers emerge, BTC will build a credit history that institutions can model and investors can evaluate.
Over time, the world’s first “Bitcoin yield curve” could emerge, allowing Bitcoin assets to be traded as digital gold and as a measurable, rated component of the global credit system.
(Tag translation)Bitcoin
