The passage of the Bubble Act can be viewed as part of either of the two narratives that ended the previous chapter: the rise of the share market or the story of the moneyed companies and the national debt. Most legal historians as well as historians of the business corporation recount the episode of the act as part of the ascent of joint-stock companies in general, and in particular of smaller, domestic, and unincorporated ones, the more speculative of which became known at the time as bubble companies. They view the Bubble Act as prohibitive and reactionary legislation aimed at impeding the rise of the joint-stock company as a legitimate form of business organization.

Though many financial, economic, and political historians viewed the South Sea Bubble (the financial episode) as a central chapter in the story of the rise of the moneyed companies, the national debt, and the financial revolution, only a few considered the Bubble Act itself (the legal episode) as a relevant event in this well-known story. If at all, they view the act as one of several measures aimed at contributing to the success of the financial scheme for the conversion and stabilization of the national debt.

From the narrower perspective of the first narrative, the Bubble Act is normally viewed as a watershed in the history of the unincorporated as well as the incorporated joint-stock company, from a status of recognition, popularity, and appreciation in the years 1689–1720 to one of mistrust and eclipse after 1720.