Picasso or Bitcoin?

How art's status is changing among the super-rich

The other day I got a WhatsApp from my fiancée. She works in the art world (auctions, collectors, that whole “beautiful object” ecosystem) and she sent me a photo from a conference she was attending. The slide read:

Picasso or Bitcoin? How art’s status is changing among the super-rich.

I laughed. Told her, “That’s interesting. Grab a pen. I’m going to quiz you later.”

What that headline reveals, without meaning to, is the exact moment a legacy narrative starts to die. And a new one takes over.

Art has always been about status. Picasso isn’t paint on canvas, it’s a signal. A flex. It’s what billionaires hang on the wall to say “I made it.” But Bitcoin? Bitcoin doesn’t ask for permission. It doesn’t need a gallery. It doesn’t care about your taste.

And here’s what’s really melting the brains of the old elite: Bitcoin doesn’t just store wealth. It absorbs it. Actively. Systematically. Day after day. While art depends on buyer sentiment and media hype, Bitcoin is pulling capital like a black h…