What The Bitcoin Layer does

The Bitcoin Layer (TBL) is a privately held research platform founded by Nik Bhatia in 2022 that publishes institutional-grade analysis of Bitcoin and global macroeconomic conditions. The company's intellectual foundation is the TBL Liquidity framework, a proprietary four-pillar composite reading global financial conditions through Treasury volatility (MOVE Index), the US dollar (DXY), intermediate-duration US Treasuries (IEF), and global banking assets outside China. On this base, TBL has built additional proprietary composites including a seven-model Master Valuation score, a 14-component Trend Master, the Bitcoin State Grid regime indicator, URPD IC (an invested-capital-weighted version of the UTXO Realized Price Distribution), and a post-ETF market structure framework tracking ETF flows, aggregate cost basis, supply-demand, Coinbase premium, and trend-versus-valuation quadrant. Data infrastructure is built on Bloomberg Data License for macro inputs.

TBL operates a tiered subscription product stack. TBL Pulse is a live browser-based dashboard sold at $19/month with a free tier available; TBL Pro ($49/month) bundles the paid Pulse tier with written research, model portfolios (Bitcoin Long/Short, Bitcoin Yield, AI Equity Basket), three research reports per week, a member community, and direct access to Nik Bhatia. TBL Research Syndicate is a closed 21-seat Chatham House Rules investor circle at $999/month with three in-person meetings annually and 1-on-1 AI coaching. TBL Pro for Teams is an institutional offering at $4,000/year for up to 10 seats with onboarding. The firm also sells two published books by Nik Bhatia — 'Layered Money' (2021, translated into 11+ languages) and 'Bitcoin Age' (2025) — which serve as top-of-funnel content marketing. CheckOnChain is a strategic content partner producing monthly on-chain deep-dive reports for TBL Pro members.

The company serves a dual audience of consumer-grade Bitcoin/macro investors and institutional allocators across asset managers, hedge funds, and family offices. Distribution is owned-media-led: Substack newsletter, YouTube/podcast, X social, SEO-optimized research articles, and books. The business has no disclosed external funding, no M&A, and operates with a core team of approximately 3-5 people (founder Nik Bhatia, Research lead Augustine Carrasco, Operations lead Demian Schatt). The competitive differentiation rests on the proprietary methodology, the founder's credibility as a CFA charterholder and former institutional Treasury bond trader, and the integrated dashboard-plus-research product surface.

Name

The Bitcoin Layer

Legal name

The Bitcoin Layer

Website

https://thebitcoinlayer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Bitcoin Layer is a private research platform founded in 2022 by Nik Bhatia offering institutional-grade Bitcoin and macroeconomic analysis through a proprietary four-pillar TBL Liquidity framework, delivered via tiered subscriptions (TBL Pulse, TBL Pro, Research Syndicate, Teams) and two published books, serving individual investors and asset managers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Research & Market Intelligence

NAICS

Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Collateral Management & Margining (FSADAJAF)

Keywords

• Bitcoin research platform
• Macro liquidity analysis
• On-chain analytics
• Financial research subscriptions
• Bitcoin market intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue (TBL Pulse): Monthly and annual subscriptions for TBL Pulse dashboard access. Free tier provides macro content; paid tier unlocks proprietary Bitcoin signals, Terminal, and regression workspace. Private offer at $99 first year, then $199/year.
2. Subscription Revenue (TBL Pro): Monthly subscription at $49/month for written research including weekly letters, monthly research, and Pulse paid access. Bundled product combining dashboard and written analysis.
3. Subscription Revenue (TBL Research Syndicate): Premium tier at $999/month offering 21-seat Chatham House Rules roundtable, 3 in-person meetings annually, and 1-on-1 AI coaching. Application-based entry.
4. Enterprise Subscription (Teams): Annual institutional subscription at $4,000/year for up to 10 seats with onboarding call and team management capabilities.
5. Book Sales: Direct sales of published books 'Layered Money' and 'Bitcoin Age' in hardcover, paperback, signed copies, and digital editions. Wholesale pricing for bulk orders (20-book packs).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Bitcoin Layer is a subscription-based Bitcoin and macro intelligence research platform that sells proprietary analytical frameworks (TBL Liquidity four-pillar composite, Master Valuation, Trend Master) via a live dashboard (TBL Pulse), written research subscriptions (TBL Pro), and a closed investor circle (TBL Research Syndicate). It also generates revenue through direct book sales of two best-selling monetary-economics titles authored by founder Nik Bhatia.

Product overview

The Bitcoin Layer is a research platform built around the TBL Liquidity framework, offering a tiered product stack: a free tier of TBL Pulse covering macro liquidity indicators and Bitcoin power-law projections; a paid TBL Pulse tier covering proprietary Bitcoin signals (Master Valuation, TBL Liquidity Indicator, Trend Master, cohort metrics, Terminal, regression workspace); TBL Pro written research (weekly letters, monthly research, TBL/CheckOnChain reports, bundled with Pulse paid); and TBL Research Syndicate as a premium closed investor circle. The intellectual foundation is anchored by two published books — 'Layered Money' and 'Bitcoin Age' — and a suite of proprietary frameworks including the TBL Liquidity four-pillar composite, the seven-model Master Valuation, the fourteen-component Trend Master, and post-ETF market structure signals. Institutional and team tiers are also available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TBL Pulse: A live dashboard for tracking macro liquidity, Bitcoin market structure, and on-chain valuation in one workspace. Includes TBL Liquidity Index, Master Valuation composite, and Trend Master signals.
• TBL Pro
• TBL Research
• TBL Research Syndicate
• TBL Liquidity
• Master Valuation
• Trend Master

Products and services

• TBL Pulse (Free Tier) The free data and dashboard surface of The Bitcoin Layer, providing the TBL Liquidity Index, four pillar charts (MOVE, DXY, IEF, global banking assets), the full Macro tab (Fed balance sheet, TGA, bank reserves, policy corridor, NFCI), and Bitcoin candles with the power-law projection overlay. Targeted at learners who want to understand the macro layer.
• TBL Pulse (Paid Tier) The proprietary paid tier of TBL Pulse, covering the full Bitcoin tab with the seven-model Master Valuation composite, AVIV ratio, URPD and URPD IC, cost-basis percentile bands, the cohort metric stack (STH MVRV, SOPR variants, LTH capitulation), the live TBL Liquidity Indicator with confirmed signal history, the Terminal workspace, and regression visualizations. Priced at $19/month.
• TBL Pro The written research arm of The Bitcoin Layer, authored by Nik Bhatia, delivering weekly letters and longer monthly research that apply the TBL Liquidity framework, on-chain valuation models, and Treasury market dynamics to the current cycle. Includes Pulse paid access and monthly TBL/CheckOnChain on-chain deep-dive reports. Priced at $49/month and includes TBL Model Portfolios (Bitcoin Long/Short, Bitcoin Yield, AI Equity Basket), 3 research reports per week (Nik's Letter, Johan's Letter, Weekly Market Video), member community, and direct access to Nik.
• Layered Money Nik Bhatia's first best-selling book, 'From Gold and Dollars to Bitcoin and Central Bank Digital Currencies,' providing a monetary framework for understanding the evolution of money from gold to central banking to Bitcoin. Translated into 11+ languages and sold in hardcover, paperback, signed, and digital editions.
• Bitcoin Age Nik Bhatia's second best-selling book exploring Bitcoin's emergence as a new monetary era shaped by technology and global liquidity. Sold in hardcover, paperback, signed, and digital editions via the TBL store.
• TBL Research Syndicate A closed 21-seat investor circle operating under Chatham House Rules, with three in-person meetings and dinners per year and 1-on-1 AI coaching, available by application at $999/month. Targeted at high-value subscribers seeking institutional-grade roundtable access.
• TBL Pro for Teams

Quantifiable outcome

• TBL Liquidity leads Bitcoin by approximately 3 months at cycle turns
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CheckOnChaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTBL produces monthly on-chain deep-dive reports in collaboration with CheckOnChain, the leading on-chain analytics practice. This collaboration brings together TBL's macro and market structure work with CheckOnChain's on-chain analytical capabilities, combining the macro layer and on-chain layer for TBL Pro members.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Messari: Messari is a leading crypto research and data platform offering paid research subscriptions, on-chain analytics, and institutional intelligence on digital assets. It directly competes with TBL in serving institutional investors and family offices with Bitcoin and macro research.
• Glassnode: Glassnode is a premier on-chain analytics platform providing institutional-grade market intelligence for digital assets, including valuation indicators (MVRV, SOPR, NUPL) that overlap with TBL's Master Valuation framework. It serves the same institutional and sophisticated retail investor base.
• Delphi Digital: Delphi Digital is a crypto research and venture firm producing institutional-grade research and market intelligence on digital assets. It directly competes with TBL in the premium paid crypto research category, particularly for hedge funds and family offices.
• Real Vision: Real Vision is a subscription-based financial research platform offering macro and crypto intelligence with high-touch community features. It competes with TBL in serving self-directed investors who want institutional-grade macro analysis tied to crypto positioning.
• CryptoQuant: CryptoQuant is a crypto market data and on-chain analytics platform offering institutional-grade intelligence, including exchange flows and valuation indicators. It overlaps with TBL's analytical offerings, particularly in serving quant traders and institutional desks.
• Coin Metrics: Coin Metrics is a crypto financial intelligence provider offering market data, network data, and research to institutional clients. It overlaps with TBL's institutional positioning and offers some of the underlying on-chain data TBL consumes.
• Pantera Capital: Pantera Capital is a crypto-focused investment firm that publishes extensive institutional research and market intelligence on digital assets. While primarily an investment firm, its research publications compete with TBL's institutional-grade Bitcoin research offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Block.one: Block.one is a major crypto software company with Bullish (a crypto exchange) and EOS-related infrastructure. While not a direct research competitor, it operates broadly in the digital asset ecosystem with overlapping institutional audiences.
• CoinShares: CoinShares is a European digital asset investment firm with a research arm publishing weekly flows and market intelligence on crypto ETPs. Its research function competes with TBL's institutional research, though it operates more broadly as an asset manager.

Others

• Substack: Substack is the publishing platform TBL uses for content distribution and subscription management for TBL Pro. While not a competitor, it is the critical infrastructure layer enabling TBL's content-led growth and is the platform on which TBL's newsletter distribution depends.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheBitcoinLayer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Bitcoin Layer