The taxonomy
of money.
Four layers. Two tools. One idea — and a few different ways to draw it.
Internal · Bitwage marketing
By Scott Jensen
Bitcoin
Stablecoin
Traditional fiat
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Framework · 01
Two kinds of freedom.
Bitcoin promised to liberate money on two layers — what it is, and how it moves.
Macro
Freedom from monetary policy
Micro
Freedom from intermediaries
Bitcoin
✓
Deterministic supply, set in code
✓
Permissionless end-to-end
Stablecoin
—
Inherits fiat policy
✓
Permissionless to send, with caveat
Traditional
—
Discretionary, by central bank
—
Bank or processor required
* Stablecoin issuers (Circle, Tether) can freeze tokens at the contract level — transactional permissionlessness comes with an asterisk.
Comparison · 02
Bitcoin and stablecoin, side by side.
Four layers where they share DNA — and where they diverge.
Bitcoin
BTC
Monetary
Deterministic. 21M cap, halvings every four years, written into the code.
Transactional
Permissionless end-to-end. No party can freeze, reverse, or block.
Programmability
Limited by design. Script is intentionally constrained for security.
Trust
Math. Cryptographic proof, decentralized validation.
Stablecoin
USDC · USDT · USDB
Monetary
Inherits fiat policy. The Fed sets the music; the stablecoin dances.
Transactional
Permissionless to send. But the issuer can blacklist a wallet.
Programmability
Highly composable. Smart contracts, automated treasury, AI-agent rails.
Trust
Math + issuer. You also trust Circle's reserves, or Tether's audits.
Comparison · 03
And where traditional fiat sits.
None of the four layers comes for free in the bank-mediated world.
Bitcoin
Monetary
Deterministic
Transactional
Permissionless
Programmability
Limited
Trust
Math
Stablecoin
Monetary
Inherits fiat
Transactional
Permissionless*
Programmability
Composable
Trust
Math + issuer
Traditional fiat
Monetary
Discretionary, central-bank-set
Transactional
Permissioned: banks & processors
Programmability
Effectively none
Trust
Institutions, courts, FDIC
Concept · 01 · The Layer Stack
The layer stack.
Four properties, three forms of money. The pattern is the point.
Bitcoin
Stablecoin
Traditional fiat
01
Monetary
Deterministic (21M cap)
Inherits fiat policy
Discretionary
02
Transactional
Permissionless
Permissionless*
Bank-mediated
03
Programmability
Limited (by design)
Highly composable
Effectively none
04
Trust
Math
Math + issuer
Institutions
Concept · 02 · The Venn
Two cousins, one promise.
Where Bitcoin and stablecoin overlap is the part the world can actually use today.
Bitcoin
Stablecoin
Bitcoin only
Deterministic supply
Bitcoin only
Pure trust minimization
Shared
Permissionless transactions
Stablecoin only
Programmability
Stablecoin only
Stable purchasing power
Concept · 03 · The Spectrum
The spectrum of decentralization.
Each layer plotted from decentralized to centralized — Bitcoin and stablecoin are sometimes close, sometimes not.
Decentralized
Centralized
Layer 01
Monetary
Layer 02
Transactional
Layer 03
Custody
Layer 04
Trust
Bitcoin
Stablecoin
Traditional fiat