“In our view, crypto (and bitcoin in particular) has been somewhat misunderstood. It is not an inflation hedge, but more of a debasement hedge that protects holders from fiscal/monetary profligacy and policy error,” Jonah Van Bourg, Global Head of Trading at Cumberland, told CoinDesk in a note. “Any risk of US debt default is indeed a form of US Dollar debasement and/or policy error, and the increased demand we’re seeing (expressed in higher crypto prices) is this use case bearing itself out.”