When operational work disappears: what bitcoin holders should understand about the coming decade

It began with a simple question during a conversation between Jos Lazet and Johan Bergman. Not about prices or predictions, but about something more fundamental: what happens to wealth when the world in which that wealth exists is itself changing?

Lazet, who leads Blockrise and has worked with the same clients for ten years, sees it daily. People who started with gold and property years ago, who taught him about alternative investments when he was nineteen. People who now ask questions about artificial intelligence, labour markets, and what that means for their bitcoin position over ten years.

The conversation in the Digital Credit Frontier podcast touched on two developments that at first seem to have little in common, but on closer inspection, everything. The first: operational work is disappearing faster than most people think. The second: holding bitcoin through volatility requires infrastructure that does not force sales at moments the market dictates.

What happens when repetitive work disappears

Lazet put it directly. "The far majority of people, around 99 per cent, are significantly underestimating the role of AI in society. Any operational repetitive type of work can be replaced by AI."

This is no longer a prediction. Blockrise is already implementing it. Legal work, compliance, engineering. The entire organisation now uses AI, not as an auxiliary tool, but as the core of how work gets done. It required different investments, different priorities, different expectations of employees. Above all, it required accepting that models improve through repetition, not by expecting perfection from day one.

For clients who hold bitcoin, this extends beyond efficiency at their service provider. Labour markets may come under pressure in ways that are still difficult to imagine. And fiat currencies, which partly derive their value from productivity within countries, could therefore become structurally weaker. Lazet framed it plainly: "If the labour market is going to implode, fiat currencies will have a tough time as well."

Here lies one of the reasons some people hold bitcoin. Not because it is immune to market movements, but because its supply does not change through decisions of authorities. Because it does not weaken when labour markets shift. But those who hold bitcoin through volatile periods need infrastructure that does not force liquidation at inconvenient moments.

A model that does not attempt to predict when everything ends

Blockrise's asset management strategy works with a difficulty regression model. It compares what bitcoin costs on the market with an estimate of what it costs to mine bitcoin. Not because that estimate is perfect, but because it provides an anchor point that is not moved by emotion or momentum.

When bitcoin becomes expensive relative to that anchor point, the allocation shifts towards euros. When it becomes cheaper, it shifts back to bitcoin. In October 2025, during the peak, the model held 15 per cent euros and 85 per cent bitcoin. When the correction came, the euro position was used to buy more. The result: portfolios declined 10 to 15 per cent less than bitcoin itself.

What the model does not do is exit completely. Even at theoretical highs, at least 40 per cent remains in bitcoin. Lazet explained why: "We have conviction in bitcoin for the long term. We do not believe in this moment where you sell completely."

That is a different starting point from strategies that attempt to catch tops and bottoms. Those assume precision is possible. They also assume clients are willing to temporarily have no bitcoin exposure, which often conflicts with why people buy bitcoin in the first place.

The infrastructure behind this model is as important as the allocations themselves. Clients hold bitcoin in segregated wallets, on-chain, verifiable. They hold a key themselves. They can withdraw at any time without calling or requesting permission. Blockrise holds the other key, only to enable rebalancing. It is built as bitcoin is intended: without the counterparty risk that brought down so many platforms in 2022.

Why this matters for those who hold bitcoin

For businesses, this means a CFO does not need to become what he is not: an active trader. The strategy offers exposure, reduces shocks, and makes it possible to access liquidity via bitcoin-backed loans without selling. Lazet described where this is heading: "You can actually live off the bitcoin standard by leveraging your bitcoin position."

For people with personal wealth, it addresses something else. Volatility is uncomfortable, even for those convinced of long-term appreciation. A strategy that dampens volatility without forced exits keeps options open. Many clients who begin with asset management later move to custody as their conviction grows. The infrastructure supports that journey, rather than hindering it with cost structures or unnecessary barriers.

Both groups benefit from a firm that uses AI for efficiency but does not cut corners on security or transparency. That operational space makes it possible to continue offering segregated custody, to maintain native bitcoin implementations, and to remain compliant with regulation without the pressure to centralise that many other firms experience.

What remains when much changes

Lazet closed the conversation with something that sounds simple but runs deep: "If you cannot verify your bitcoin on-chain, if you cannot see it yourself, do you really have it? Consider your setup."

Custody is not a feature you add. It determines whether bitcoin remains decentralised or evolves into something vulnerable to the same problems as traditional finance. Infrastructure for people who hold assets for decades supports verification, enables withdrawal without permission, and adapts when bitcoin develops technically.

The same logic applies to how firms handle AI. Those who treat it as a tool alongside existing work lose ground to those who rebuild processes with AI as the starting point. Clients who hold appreciating assets through major shifts need counterparties who make decisions with an eye for what lasts, not what is easiest now.

Listen to the full conversation between Jos Lazet and Johan Bergman.

Bitcoin-backed loans are provided by Blockrise Lending B.V. A group company of Blockrise Capital B.V. Bitcoin-backed loans are not regulated under MiCAR

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