David Gokhshtein, founder of Gokhshtein Media, sees a massive shift happening in crypto.
Speaking on Deribit’s Crypto Options Unplugged podcast with David Brickell, Head of International Distribution at FRNT, Gokhshtein shared his belief that memes and community-driven assets are key to onboarding new users into crypto, but Bitcoin’s true growth will come from institutional adoption.
“The meme economy was going off,” Gokhshtein said, but criticized the explosion of speculative trading, particularly with platforms like Pump.fun. “All the degenerate gamblers threw their hats in, and all you’ve seen is a bunch of people just rotating the same amount of money. It’s like going over to cousin Ed’s house and playing poker against the same 10 people all the time.”
He pointed out that Dogecoin played a major role in getting new users into Bitcoin. “Dogecoin had more people acquire Bitcoin than actually listening to Bitcoin maxis,” he said, referring to the rigid stance of some Bitcoin advocates. “We’ve done a horrific job explaining Bitcoin at a basic level. We go right into the code. Normies don’t care about that. They just want to click, buy, and hold.”
While memes help introduce new users to the space, Gokhshtein believes Bitcoin is only in the early stages of an institutional-driven run.
“I don’t feel like this is going to be the regular four-year cycle that we’re accustomed to,” he said, pointing to ETFs and institutional inflows. “The money hasn’t even poured in yet. How many Fortune 500 companies are still sitting on the sidelines? Apple is sitting on $300 billion worth of cash. They haven’t even picked up any Bitcoin, not even a percent.”
Brickell agreed, adding that institutional investors need clearer regulations before committing massive capital. “We’ve not got clarity around the regulatory backdrop yet,” he said. “Some of the big guys want to come in, but they need to know exactly what that looks like.”
For Gokhshtein, Bitcoin reaching $1 million is inevitable.
“How do I bet against BlackRock, Fidelity, and Vanguard?” he asked. “Every time they give an interview, it’s a million-dollar Bitcoin, $700,000 Bitcoin. Cathie Wood says millions by 2030. Michael Saylor just bought again today. How am I supposed to say it’s over?”
Comparing Bitcoin to gold’s historic run, he noted, “When the gold ETF came out, it ran for 10 to 12 years. It wasn’t a straight line, but it was a bull run. Why can’t the same happen for Bitcoin?”
While Bitcoin’s long-term success is tied to institutional investment, Gokhshtein emphasized that crypto’s culture—especially memes—remains crucial.
Story Continues
