Bitcoin Is World’s Best Performing Asset Class Over Past 10 Years (#GotBitcoin)

Bitcoin has outperformed other asset classes by a huge margin, demonstrating its uncorrelated nature to stocks and oil. Bitcoin Is World’s Best Performing Asset Class Over Past 10 Years (#GotBitcoin)

In December 2018, the mainstream media proclaimed the death of bitcoin (BTC/USD) for the millionth time. At that point, the first cryptocurrency dropped by as much as 84% from the all-time high of around $20,000 as the price plunged below mining costs. The bearish sentiment was so strong that almost no one dared to long the digital asset. Those who did, however, have been handsomely rewarded because bitcoin is 2019’s best-performing asset globally.

[Bitcoin] is the most secure transaction settlement layer in the world, so it’s got to be worth something […] it’s the best performing asset class over the past ten years – it’s outperformed S&P, DOW, NASDAQ, etc. during the longest bull run. It experienced two 85 percent drops during that time, but [it’s] still up over 400 percent in the last two years.”

Bitcoin Outperforms Other Assets By A Huge Margin

It may come as a shock to you but bitcoin is way ahead of any asset in terms of this year’s returns. As of this writing, it is up by more than 67% on Coinbase year-to-date.

Coming in at No. 2 is oil (USOIL), up by 38.35%. The other investable assets in the green this year are the Nasdaq 100 (through the QQQ ETF), small caps (through the IWM ETF), and S&P 500 (through the SPY ETF).

These investment vehicles are up by 22.25%, 18.17%, and 16.54% percent, respectively. On the other hand, gold (GLD), which is considered as a safe store of value, is down by 0.12%.

Bitcoin’s recovery comes at a time when global markets appear to be in turmoil. The uncertainty is further intensified as China threatens to come up with severe retaliatory measures in response to the significant tariff bump by the White House.

Fundstrat Co-Founder Thomas Lee recently took to Twitter to show how BTC is unaffected by these developments. He applauded the rise of bitcoin in spite of tense global market conditions:

Even more impressive, bitcoin is not just buckling under the sharp declines of global markets. The cryptocurrency also appears to be shrugging off bad developments within the crypto community. Crypto-enthusiast Alex Kruger was able to notice this pattern.

Bitcoin is still rising even after three negative developments. It appears to be in the midst of a massive disbelief rally. An in-depth analysis shows that this digital currency has more gas left in the tank.

Bitcoin Targeting $8,000.00 In The Near Term

Bitcoin looks to mock the shorters and the non-believers as the cryptocurrency continues to push higher despite overheated technical signals. Daily volume and RSI may be flashing bearish divergences yet bitcoin remains strong. It is now threatening to breach heavy resistance of $6,200 on Coinbase.

Nevertheless, bulls have the pending golden cross between the 100-day moving average (MA) and the 200-day MA on their side. A confirmed cross can be the technical catalyst that keeps BTC above $6,200. Above this resistance, the next logical target is $7,800.

Bottom Line

Bitcoin is 2019’s top performing asset, significantly edging traditional assets like oil, the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500. The cryptocurrency’s trend is so strong that it defies negative developments in the legacy markets as well as within the crypto community. Don’t wait for bitcoin to hit $7,800 before you start considering it as an investment. Bitcoin Is World’s Best, Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best,Bitcoin Is World’s Best

Updated: 11-16-2019

These 4 Facts Show How ‘Boring’ Bitcoin Is Crushing the Stock Market

Analytics company Blockforce Capital published the October edition of its in-depth crypto markets overview on Nov. 11. Packed with information, the report provides a surplus of data on the overall state of the cryptocurrency markets, noting that Bitcoin (BTC) still outpacing traditional markets.

Bitcoin Gets Boring In November But…

November has thus far been rather uneventful if not boring with regards to price action. However, Bitcoin has had an eventful October. Last month started off slow but ended with Bitcoin skyrocketing from $7,300 to $10,500.

Shortly after, the asset quickly fell back down just below $9,000 before the end of the month. Now almost halfway through November, Bitcoin is holding around the $8,500 mark.

But even at current prices, Bitcoin’s gains have still far outpaced traditional markets, which are having a record year. Several data points also reveal increased mainstream Bitcoin trading as well as increased overall transaction activity in the latter part of the month.

Let’s take a closer look at some striking stats demonstrating how Bitcoin is still outperforming the red-hot U.S. stock market despite the bearish sentiment that has been prevalent since June.

1. Bitcoin 150% vs. US Stock Market 23% YTD returns

Before its dramatic rise to $13,800 in June, Bitcoin sat at $3,400 in February of this year.

Currently, in the $8,000 to $9,000 range, Bitcoin has fallen significantly from its yearly high, although crypto’s leading asset has still outperformed traditional financial benchmarks even at current prices — and traditional markets have had an excellent year.

Blockforce CIO David Martin Said The Report:

“Bitcoin returned 11.5% for October, compared to mid-2% returns for gold, the S&P 500, and the MSCI All-World Index. The S&P hit new highs to close the month, returning 23% YTD — a favorable return for traditional assets, but one that is dwarfed by bitcoin’s 150% YTD return.”

As demonstrated by Bitcoin’s volatility this year, buying into the digital asset at the wrong time likely led some traders or investors to buy BTC near its yearly highs of almost $14,000. Bitcoin currently sits almost 40% lower than that yearly high.

The coin’s current price, however, is more than double its 2019 low, outpacing traditional markets by a long shot.

Taking the aforementioned into consideration, one might consider dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin exposure as a potential opportunity, in addition to traditional market exposure.

Dollar-cost averaging involves buying a predetermined amount of an asset at a recurring set point, regardless of that asset’s price, over a period of time. This strategy has the potential to provide investors with long-term profits while decreasing the risk associated with volatility.

2. Institutional Interest In BTC Gains Steam In October

Throughout most of October, Bitcoin futures posted little volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), Martin said, adding:

“CME Bitcoin futures volume was non-existent for the first three weeks of the month but increased during the last week of October given the dominant news cycle regarding Facebook and China. CME contract volume was under $200M for the month, the lowest since Jan 2018, but open interest remained relatively healthy.”

After Bitcoin’s significant price tumble below $8,000 near the end of September, the asset consolidated with overall rangebound activity and limited action for most of October. Bitcoin dropped to $7,300 on Oct. 23 before bouncing all the way up to $10,500 three days later — a historic rally of more than 40% in one day.

During this time, speculations arose regarding various causes for such a pump, including China’s President Xi Jinping speaking positively on Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology. Facebook also headlined numerous articles due to numerous governments’ backlash against its Libra asset concept.

As Martin noted, CME Bitcoin futures volume rose near the end of October. Naturally, this occurred around the same time Bitcoin’s market price rose significantly.

Bitcoin trading activity on the Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt platform revealed the same conclusion — that mainstream Bitcoin trading activity increases significantly when Bitcoin’s market price makes major moves.

Martin said:

“Bakkt Bitcoin futures got off to a slow start last month, but both volume and open interest continue to grow. Open interest closed the month at a high of $900k on October 31.”

Additionally, citing a Grayscale report, Martin added that Grayscale’s mainstream cryptocurrency products have seen increased interest, with $255 million invested in its offerings.

“Grayscale has been a dominant force in with their ‘not an ETF’ trust, and saw record quarterly inflows during the third quarter,” Martin noted.

3. Bitcoin Transaction Volume Recovering

Prices for the overall crypto market surged back in May and June 2019, so naturally, the blockchain networks associated with those assets also saw significant traffic.

Daily Ethereum (ETH) transactions hit the seven-figure mark in June, which the market had not seen in more than a year, according to a Cointelegraph report. Since June, however, Bitcoin and Ethereum tallied decreasing transaction numbers until October posted a slight turnaround, Martin reported.

“Network transactions continue to be a healthy barometer of interest in cryptocurrency, and both Bitcoin and Ethereum saw an uptick in October, increasing 1.3% and 2.5%, respectively.”

As Cointelegraph also reported earlier this month, some key on-chain metrics are also suggesting that investors are currently accumulating BTC in anticipation of the halving taking place next May.

4. More Mining Power Is Entering Bitcoin’s Network

October saw a 7.5% rally in Bitcoin’s hash rate. Essentially, this means increasing computing power and security of the Bitcoin network.

Increased network hash rate (net hash) sometimes means more miners are mining Bitcoin, although it more broadly states that Bitcoin’s network is receiving more mining power in general.

This means new miners, as well as existing miners, are directing more computing power toward Bitcoin’s network, crypto trader, miner and Twitter personality Socal Crypto explained to Cointelegraph.

Either way, a higher network hash rate for Bitcoin means more miners are investing capital into the network, which suggests that they anticipate the value of BTC to continue rising in the future.

Over the past year, Bitcoin’s rising network hash rate trend appears to have coincided with its upward price trend, according to data from a recent Cointelegraph article.

In the Blockforce report, Martin adds that Bitcoin has posted rising hash rate figures every month since May 2019, “although the month-over-month change is slowing down after posting double-digit growth over the six months.”

In any case, Bitcoin’s hash rate when the price hit nearly $20,000 in late 2017 was around 14,000,000 TH/s. Today, this figure has climbed to over 100,000,000 TH/s, suggesting that the price is yet to catch up, as some analysts believe.

Updated: 12-12-2019

Cryptocurrency Is Still the World’s Best Performing Asset Class This Year

As the year and decade come to an end, cryptocurrencies once again outperform other major asset classes.

Despite trading significantly down from their record highs of late December 2017, large-cap cryptocurrencies had a phenomenal year and remain one of the greatest investment success stories of the decade.

Cementing themselves as the world’s leading asset class for yearly performance, cryptocurrencies have risen well above annualized returns of the U.S. equities, commodities and bond markets for 2019.

Ryan Alfred, President and co-founder of Digital Assets Data said large-cap crypto assets possess significantly higher returns versus traditional markets for this year.

“Looking back at the performance of the top ten large-caps (Bitwise 10) in comparison to other major asset classes, we can see their special signature,” Alfred said.

As seen in the chart above, research provided by Digital Assets Data shows how this year’s performance of the top 10 cryptos by market capitalization fared against other major asset classes such as gold, oil and equities.

Of course, 2019 didn’t start out that way. Back in February, the top 10 crypto began a fairly dismal run, resting well below all other traditional asset classes when viewing their return on investment figures. However, sentiment began to pick up significantly in March and by mid-year, cryptocurrencies were far out ahead of other the other assets.

That gap has begun to narrow as stocks, bonds and commodities begin to increase their lead. Yet cryptocurrencies remain significantly ahead of all other asset classes as the year comes to a close.

Much of this rally is courtesy of bitcoin (BTC). The world’s first cryptocurrency is currently up 100 percent since the year began.

Meanwhile, Ether, the world’s second-largest crypto is up 35 percent year-to-date, though XRP is down 25 percent from where it traded on Jan. 1.

In the year before the decade began, the world was in the throes of a financial crisis. Since then, stocks have rebounded. From its March 2009 market meltdown lows to now, the S&P 500 has gained a respectable 369 percent. Similarly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has also had a good run, up 326 percent in that same time period.

However, BTC has blasted those figures, rising well above a staggering 12 million percent (yes, you read that correctly) over a one-year-shorter time frame, beginning March 2010. That’s when the price of 1 BTC was around $0.05, data taken from Messari shows.

Crypto’s success can likely be attributed to its most defining characteristics: high volatility and liquidity, allowing market participants to quickly and easily trade between digital and fiat currencies.

Lorenzo Pellegrino, CEO of Skrill, a cross-border payments platform utilizing crypto, said digital assets resembled a nascent market. Prices bouncing around in a frantic manner enable the asset class to outperform all others based on irrational sentiment and low barriers to entry.

“As it (crypto) matures we should start to see increased stability and the core fundamentals will become more apparent,” Pellegrino said.

Other cryptocurrencies have performed even better than bitcoin, with ether (ethereum) experiencing gains of more than 60 percent since the start of the year.

Despite their recent gains, bitcoin and ethereum remain a long way off the highs of late 2017 and early 2018, when one bitcoin was worth more than twice its current value.

Updated: 5-8-2020

Bitcoin Overtakes Gold To Become The Best Performing Asset Of 2020

World’s most valuable cryptocurrency has nearly doubled in value since a flash crash in mid March.

A sudden surge in the price of bitcoin has made the cryptocurrency the top performing asset of 2020, outpacing gold, silver and crude oil.

Over the past four months, the price of bitcoin has risen by almost a third despite a major crash in March that wiped more than $4,000 (£3,200) from its value.

In the same time period, gold has only risen by around 13 per cent, while silver has fallen by 14 per cent and crude oil has dropped by more than 70 per cent in value.

Bitcoin’s recovery comes less than two weeks ahead of a rare event known as a halving, whereby the number of new bitcoins created will fall by 50 per cent.

It is only the third time a halving has happened in bitcoin’s 11-year history and some market analysts believe it could push the cryptocurrency’s price to new all-time highs this year.

Both bitcoin and gold have seen significant gains since around mid March, when countries around the world began to introduce lockdown measures in an effort to slow down the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

This resulted in a global economic slowdown and caused stock markets to crash, as investors looked to secure their holdings in safe haven assets.

This has been why gold has traditionally performed well during times of economic uncertainty, however market data suggests that the finite supply of bitcoin means it is increasingly being viewed as a safe haven asset.

“Bitcoin has been surging ahead of the May halving event, with investors eagerly anticipating the positive impact of a tightening in supply that comes once every four-years,” Joshua Mahony, a senior market analyst at financial services firm IG, told The Independent.

“As things stand we are in line to post a 182 per cent rise for bitcoin since the lows of December 2018, and the surge we are currently seeing paints a bullish picture for the months following this third halving.

“From a wider perspective, the huge growth in central bank easing and government debt does highlight why many feel the need to store their wealth in alternative assets to avoid the apparent depreciation that could be on the cards.”

Other cryptocurrencies have performed even better than bitcoin, with ether (ethereum) experiencing gains of more than 60 percent since the start of the year.

Despite their recent gains, bitcoin and ethereum remain a long way off the highs of late 2017 and early 2018, when one bitcoin was worth more than twice its current value.

Updated: 5-9-2020

Bitcoin Is Outperforming Every Mainstream Asset Class In 2020

With less than three days left until the halving, Bitcoin is currently outperforming every mainstream asset class for 2020 so far.

Data published by market research firm Fundstrat shows that Bitcoin (BTC) is the top-performing asset class of 2020 so far.

The data, posted to Twitter by Fundstrat’s Thomas Lee, shows Bitcoin to have outperformed every other asset class by at least 19% — with BTC having gained 39% since the start of the year.

20-year U.S. treasures rank as the second-best performing asset with a 21.1% year-to-date (YTD) gain, followed by gold with 12.5%, and U.S. treasuries with 8.9%.

Global government bonds and the Nasdaq increased by 1.8% and 1.7% respectively, while high-grade U.S. credit and cash funds post roughly 0.5%. All other asset classes are currently in the red.

Bitcoin On Track To Outperform For The Second Consecutive Year

The post also details the performance of the top 13 asset classes of 2019, which Bitcoin again tops with a 12-month gain of 92.2%.

The Nasdaq ranked second with 35.2%, followed by the S&P 500 28.9%, and the MSCI World Index with 25.2%.

Bitcoin is also the best performing asset of 2017 with a gain of over 1,550% and would have comprised the top commodity of 2016.

Leading Altcoins Outshine BTC On YTD Charts

As of this writing, Bitcoin appears to have gained 33.5% from $7,205 to $9,620 since the start of the year — ranking BTC as the fifth-strongest performing of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization YTD.

Bitcoin SV (BSV) currently boasts the largest gains for 2020, having risen 115% from $98 to $210.5. Tezos (XTZ) ranks second, posting a 107.5% increase from $1.35 to $2.80.

Ether (ETH) and Stellar (XLM) follow with gains of roughly 61% each.

Updated: 9-25-2020

China State Media Make Rare Reports Calling Crypto 2020’s Best Performing Asset

Several Chinese state-owned media have made coordinated reports describing cryptocurrencies as the year’s top performing investment.

* China Central Television (CCTV), the country’s top broadcaster, published a three-minute news clip on Friday that highlighted crypto assets have soared by 70% this year so far.

* The report added that “cryptocurrency has undoubtedly become the top performing investment” among various global assets.

* CCTV’s clip followed the state-owned news agency Xinhua, which published an online article Thursday entitled “Cryptocurrency is this year’s ‘No. 1 asset.'”

* The same article first appeared on the Thursday print version of Cankaoxiaoxi and was a summarized translation of an article from Bloomberg on Tuesday.

* Cankaoxiaoxi is one of the longest running state media that selectively translates news reports from foreign sources, including those that are normally blocked by China’s Great Firewall.

* The CCTV clip immediately drew wide attention from the Chinese crypto community.

* Many started sharing the clip on WeChat news feeds as a bullish signal since the unusual neutral-to-positive tone is seemingly at odds with China’s stance that crypto speculation could undermine financial stability.

* Such a rare and coordinated effort also sparked some to wonder what the real intention and nuance might be, since state-owned media in China typically carry political agendas.

* Citing Bloomberg’s index, CCTV said the yield of crypto asset has this year surpassed that of gold, which has risen only 20%.

* The broadcaster said various countries’ economic stimulus plans following the coronavirus pandemic and the recent mania for decentralized finance contributed to the surge of values in cryptocurrencies.

However, it also cautioned that the risks for retail investors still remain high given crypto assets’ volatility.

Updated: 3-15-2021

BTC Was Best-Performing Asset Of Past Decade By 900%

Bitcoin’s annualized returns have eclipsed all other asset classes by a big margin.

Over the past ten years, Bitcoin has beaten out all over asset classes by at least a factor of 10.

The milestone was noted by Compound Capital Advisors’ CEO and founder, Charlie Bilello, who compiled the performances of the top asset classes using data from Ycharts.

Responding to the findings, Messari researcher Roberto Talamas highlighted that Bitcoin has produced an annualized return of 230% on average — more than 10 times higher than the second-ranked asset class.

Asset Class Returns over the Last 10 Years…

Data via @ycharts pic.twitter.com/yRvdkIX1BV

— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) March 13, 2021

The U.S. Nasdaq 100 Index ranked second with an annualized return of 20%, followed by U.S. Large Caps — shares in U.S.-based companies with market caps exceeding $10 billion — with an average annual performance of 14%. U.S. Small Cap stocks were the only other asset class to post double-digit annualized returns for the past ten years, with 12.9%.

The data also shows that gold made a paltry annualized return of 1.5% since 2011, with five out of the past 11 years producing a loss for the asset. According to Gold Price, the precious metal has fallen by 8.5% since the beginning of 2021, much to the chagrin of Bitcoin detractor and gold investor Peter Schiff.

Since 2011, BTC’s cumulative gains for BTC equate to a whopping 20 million percent. 2013 was Bitcoin’s best-performing year, during which it gained 5,507%.

The data also shows that Bitcoin has only posted an annualized loss for two years of its history, with BTC falling by 58% and 73% during 2014 and 2018 respectively.

Since the start of 2021, BTC is up 108%, with the markets hitting an all-time high of just over $61,500 on Sunday, March 14.

Updated: 7-12-2021

By One Measure, Bitcoin Is One Of This Year’s Worst-Performing Asset Classes

The cryptocurrency is up, but it’s been quite a rollercoaster to get there.

Bitcoin is up around 16% so far this year. It’s not incredible, but it’s solid. On the other hand, it’s been quite a rollercoaster getting to that 16% return, with the cryptocurrency having gained over 115% between January and April before plunging more than 50%.

So as with all things crypto, or even Bitcoin itself, you’ve needed some serious stomach to achieve these returns.

Has it been worth it? Eh.

According to a Goldman Sachs list of risk-adjusted returns by asset class, Bitcoin is down near the bottom right now.

Basically when you adjust the returns for volatility (to get the Sharpe Ratio), Bitcoin has done a bit better than gold or Treasuries, but much worse than basically anything in the equity sphere. And while some defenders of Bitcoin’s “store of value” narrative might take some solace in outperforming Treasuries, the fact of the matter is that typically people aren’t into Treasuries for capital appreciation, whereas with Bitcoin they are.

Of course, some argue that Bitcoin isn’t an asset class, and that the asset class should instead be characterized as “crypto.” In which case Bitcoin is one of the year’s worst-performing cryptocurrencies.

Updated: 2-22-2022

Bitcoin Outperforms U.S. Equities On Ukraine Turmoil

Bitcoin rose as much as 3.4% to $38,319, while the Nasdaq 100 was down as much as 1.2%.

* Bitcoin Took Brunt Of Geopolitical Tensions Over U.S. Holiday
* Market Sentiment Could Change ‘On A Whim,’ McQueen Says

Bitcoin’s notorious weekend volatility is paying dividends Tuesday for investors in the largest cryptocurrency, which is outperforming U.S. equities for a change amid the uncertainty surrounding the turmoil in Ukraine.

The digital token has remained in the green through most of Tuesday after slumping through the three-day U.S. holiday weekend. By comparison, the Nasdaq 100 Index has extended losses from last week after trading resumed following the Presidents Day holiday.

“You tend to see overreactions that happen on weekends and holidays, and for a couple of hours overnight,” said Ed Hindi, chief investment officer and co-founder of Tyr Capital.

Bitcoin’s relationship with global markets had been strengthening despite it being long touted by advocates as an uncorrelated hedge against turmoil. The cryptocurrency has been mimicking movements in equities, most notably the technology benchmark Nasdaq 100 index. The correlation between the two rose was recently at 0.43, with a coefficient of 1 indicates asset classes move in lockstep.

Greg Waisman, co-founder of global payment network Mercuryo, said $40,000 is a key resistance level for Bitcoin in the short-term.

“The old adage of ‘turnaround Tuesday’ looks to be ringing true again as Bitcoin gains today,” said Justin McQueen, a strategist at DailyFX, by email. “Of course, an extension of this move higher is dependent on the situation between Russia and Ukraine and as we have seen, sentiment can change on a whim from one headline to the next.”

Updated: 3-30-2023

Bitcoin’s Stealth Rally Puts It Atop the Quarterly Scoreboard Once Again

Volatile Price Moves Are A Hallmark Of The Digital Currency
Market-Watchers Are At Odds Over Catalysts Behind Big Rally

Bitcoin’s surprising fast exit from its “crypto winter” has once again put the notoriously volatile digital currency atop the leader-board in the first quarter for being the best-performing asset class by a wide margin.

With a 72% gain, Bitcoin closed out its best quarter since the three months ended March 2021, when it surged some 103%, Bloomberg data show.

That vastly outstripped the S&P 500’s 7% year-to-date advance, the Nasdaq 100’s 20.5% uptick and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF’s 6.8% jump.

Long-time participants note that volatility is expected — and is even part of the attraction to investors in the relatively embryonic asset class.

Bitcoin burst onto the mainstream consciousness with a more-than 1,000% annual gain in 2017, only to post a 74% drop the following year in what became known as a crypto winter.

Then after three consecutive annual increases, it tumbled 64% last year amid a series of industry scandals and bankruptcies.

“For many crypto market observers, it’s not at all a surprise,” said Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter, of this year’s rally.

“All the signs were pointing to a strong price floor starting last November, and it was just a matter of time before either the liquidity narrative changed (which it did in early January) or longer-term investors saw a store-of-value opportunity (which seems to have also happened).”

Bitcoin Is World's Best Performing Asset Class Over Past 10 Years (#GotBitcoin)

Market-watchers are at odds over the exact causes behind Bitcoin’s big bounce. The coin started 2023 coming off its second-worst year ever. Partly, some say, it might have been recovering from such a bruising performance.

Yet many more have in recent weeks pointed to its origins as reasons why it’s back in demand: amid tremors in the global banking sector, the token can act as a sanctuary given that it’s independent of central banks, they argue.

“Most people’s knee-jerk would’ve said Bitcoin should do terribly because markets are under pressure or strain,” said Peter van Dooijeweert at Man Solutions. “But actually if you think about the Bitcoin bugs — the people who love Bitcoin — they love the idea of a non-fiat currency — like this is the outside-the-US-dollar, outside-of-the-banking-system-type thing.”

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, agrees. “Bitcoin has remained resilient because of legitimate fundamental improvements and its unique role as a bearer asset in a period of skepticism about bank deposits and more central bank bailouts,” he said in an interview.

No matter the catalysts, the coin’s recently been notching rally after rally. Over the last three weeks, which roughly covers the period of when banks in the US started to exhibit stresses, it’s only seen seven sessions out of 22 with losses and has posted a 40% jump in that period.

It’s not just Bitcoin — which is hovering just around $28,000 — that’s risen during the first quarter. Ether gained 52% to trade around $1,800.

To be sure, there are some companies as well as some exchange-traded funds that look to amplify returns that have performed better than Bitcoin has this quarter.

Shares of Nvidia Corp., with a 90% gain, have risen more than Bitcoin has since the start of the year, as have some crypto-specific ETFs, like the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (ticker WGMI), which has jumped more than 100%. Levered products are usually also standouts, with 1.5x Nvidia and Meta Platforms Inc. ETFs each surging more than 100% year to date.

But out of a handful of major asset classes, Bitcoin’s still the standout. Bloomberg data show that in the world of commodities, sugar was the best-performing so far this year, with a 23% gain.

In bonds, a global inflation-linked total return index is up 4.5%, while among global stock gauges, the Laos Composite Index is up more than 44% through Friday.

Stephane Ouellette, chief executive of FRNT Financial Inc., points out that “seemingly, BTC rallies have come from ‘darkest before the dawn’ moments.”

“After the SVB failure and subsequent Signature closing, the narrative entering the week was that it would be a difficult period for crypto,” he said. “In fact, those events fueled the narrative for Bitcoin as an alternative to banking solutions and all of crypto inclusive of BTC had some fantastic positive trading days, which was unexpected for many.”

Updated: 4-4-2023

Bitcoin ‘Untouchable’ Amid Regulatory Pressures, Says Analyst

Bitcoin is “untouchable” because it’s more decentralized than other cryptocurrencies in the space, such as Ether, according to senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone.

Bitcoin (BTC) is “untouchable” despite ongoing regulatory pressures in the crypto sector, and those who don’t have some crypto exposure are “seriously silly” according to Bloomberg senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone.

During an April 3 stream with crypto podcaster Scott Melker, McGlone argued that unlike other cryptocurrencies such as Ether, Bitcoin couldn’t be killed by regulators because it’s more decentralized.

Can #Bitcoin replace the banks? And can it remain uncorrelated if markets crash again?

Discussing with weekly guests @mikemcglone11 and @daveweisberger1.

It’s Macro Monday at 9:30 am EST. https://t.co/WDVCbkkWyU

— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) April 3, 2023

“There’s so much disdain about regulators pushing back on the whole space, and that’s the key thing where Bitcoin sticks out,” McGlone said.

“You can’t do anything to this, and you can’t kill it and it’s just unprecedented; it is untouchable.”

“You could make a case that Ethereum is a security when you hear about all these upgrades and people doing this and people doing that to make it better, I’m like okay, well that’s kind of scary, can’t do that to Bitcoin, it’s why it’s fine and impressive,” McGlone added.

The crypto sector has faced a wave of crackdowns in the United States recently, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing charges against crypto exchange Kraken for its staking services, then suing stablecoin issuer Paxos over Binance USD.

The regulator also proposed rule changes targeted at crypto firms operating as custodians.

McGlone stated he is still bullish on BTC but expects the price to go down again in step with other assets if a recession hits.

Back in January, he warned BTC might not see the surge being predicted just yet, as there are challenging macroeconomic conditions and pressure from interest-rate hikes.

According to McGlone, the April 2 decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce daily oil output makes a recession more likely, as does interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to clamp down on inflation.

“We had our morning call this morning and our economist Anna Wong said, Yeah, their base case is for that recession to kick in Q3,” he said.

“OPEC is helping that. Fed tightening is helping that. So all assets have to go down. That means Bitcoin too. It’s the fastest horse in the race. So I’m overall, certainly relatively bullish.”

In McGlone’s opinion, it’s “seriously silly” to risk not having some exposure to crypto or trying to stand in its way.

“The key thing I look at simplistically for Bitcoin is, if you’re a money manager, why take the risk of not having some of this revolutionary asset, particularly because it’s so controversial you want to have at least some in it because you don’t want to look like an idiot over history,” he said.

“The smart guys get it; we’re not gonna be a Blockbuster or Sears, and we’re going to be part of this technology.”

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