Nation-State Bitcoin Adoption On ‘Tail End’ Of Gradual Stage
An increasing number of countries are preparing to ramp up Bitcoin adoption after moving past the initial skepticism, according to Jan3 founder Samson Mow.
“I think we’re on the tail end of gradually, and we’re at the beginning phases of suddenly,” Mow told Danny Knowles on the What Bitcoin Did podcast published on YouTube on Saturday.
“These things happen very quickly,” Mow said, referring to the potential for more countries to adopt a Strategic Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve. “It’s like literally gradually then suddenly,” he said, adding:
“I think it is simply a matter of time before we see a massive run-up, and we see a massive nation-state FOMO, you know, panic.”
Mow emphasized that while US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the US still hasn’t started buying.
US is “pushing forward” with Bitcoin plan
However, he pointed out the nation is “pushing forward” with budget-neutral Bitcoin acquisition and the Bitcoin Act.
Galaxy Digital’s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn, recently said there is a high likelihood that the US government will form the highly anticipated Strategic Bitcoin Reserve by the end of this year.
While the US still leads all governments in total Bitcoin holdings, Mow told Cointelegraph Magazine in June that the US “has to start” acquiring Bitcoin this year.
“The risk is that the US is front-run by Pakistan,” he explained. At the time of publication, the US government holds 198,012 Bitcoin, according to Bitbo data.
Mow anticipates significant Bitcoin moves from the Latin American region, which he says is one of the areas he is most bullish on.
Nation-state Bitcoin adoption has been a widely discussed talking point in the crypto industry this year.
Fidelity Digital Assets said in a research paper in January that it anticipates “more nation-states, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and government treasuries will look to establish strategic positions in Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin’s price hasn’t had a “massive run up” yet
Meanwhile, Mow pointed out that Bitcoin’s price hasn’t played out how many market participants thought it would for 2025.
“We should have had a bull run already,” he said, “like a massive run up,” he added.
“So I think this cycle, if you want to call it a cycle, is delayed; it might push into next year,” he said. Several other market participants have echoed a similar sentiment in recent times. On July 26, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said, “I bet 2026 is an up year.”
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“I broadly think we’re in for a good few years,” Hougan said. Bitcoin is trading at $109,400 at the time of publication, down 1.97% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.
Mow’s and Hougan’s comments come as the industry continues to debate whether Bitcoin’s usual four-year cycle is still relevant now that ETFs and institutional demand are in play.
It was only in June that Mow said the $1 million Bitcoin price tag “is a given at this point, maybe this year, maybe next year.”
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