Why Some Traders Say Bitcoin’s 21 Million Cap Is Being Diluted Off-Chain

Several X accounts have reignited a long-running debate in bitcoin circles, arguing that a single onchain bitcoin now underpins multiple financial claims across exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures, perpetual swaps, wrapped tokens, and structured products. The argument, often labeled the “paper bitcoin” theory, draws direct comparisons to gold’s financialization in the 1980s, when derivatives came to