Veteran fund manager says Bitcoin looks like Google in 2017

BTC-USD +0.02% GOOG -0.05% GC=F +1.27%

Bitcoin (BTC) is once again at the center of a familiar debate: Is it behaving more like a risk-on tech stock than the “digital gold” many long-term supporters describe?

In October, analyst Jesse Colombo argued that Bitcoin’s price movements continue to resemble those of high-beta tech equities — assets that respond strongly to shifts in macro sentiment.

Now, former hedge fund manager and Real Vision founder Raoul Pal has added momentum to the discussion, drawing direct parallels between Bitcoin and Google.

Bitcoin's recent market volatility

Bitcoin has struggled to regain momentum after its early-October peak near $126,000. The asset fell sharply on Oct. 10 after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he intended to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports in addition to existing duties.

The announcement triggered widespread volatility in risk assets, with Bitcoin and the broader crypto market shedding billions.

At press time, Bitcoin was floating above the $90,000 level, trading at $92,617.58.

However, it remains well below its monthly high, reinforcing the argument that it is behaving like a high-beta macro asset.

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Crypto is clearly a Metcalfe’s Law network model

In a post on X on Nov. 28, Pal compared Bitcoin’s growth trajectory to the early years of major technology firms, noting that network-driven adoption is the key to understanding its valuation:

“If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck… Crypto is clearly a Metcalfe’s Law network model, just like Google, Amazon, Meta, Tesla etc. almost by definition and using cash flows misses the entire valuation of a network… I would argue we are around 2017 GOOGL in BTC and earlier in ETH.”

Pal’s comparison suggests Bitcoin is in a similar adoption phase to where Google was roughly a decade ago, with exponential user-growth potential continuing to underpin its value.

2017 was a breakout year for Google's parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), with strong revenue growth, booming ad sales, cloud expansion, and a 30% rise in stock price.

By likening Bitcoin to Google in 2017, a period marked by rapid adoption and strong market performance, Pal suggests BTC is entering a similar inflection point where network effects begin compounding.

Why Metcalfe’s Law matters for Bitcoin

Metcalfe’s Law proposes that the value of a network is proportional to the square of its number of users. In crypto markets, the concept has become a widely used framework to evaluate assets whose worth is tied to network participation and activity rather than traditional corporate cash flows.

Analysts often apply the 2x Metcalfe-Value band to estimate Bitcoin’s fair-value zones — tracking where price converges with on-chain network expansion, transaction activity, and user adoption.

Under this model, Bitcoin tends to oscillate between upper and lower valuation bands as the network grows.

Related: JPMorgan Launches Its Own Bitcoin Fund for Wealthy Clients

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Nov 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Trading News & Analysis section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.