Inverse Relationship
Strategists have identified a strong inverse trading pattern between gold and bullion stretching all the way back to the fall, right around the time that cryptocurrencies rebounded from a China-induced selloff. As bitcoin and other cryptos surged, gold experienced a steep fall from a high above $1,351 in early September to a low of $1,241 just three months later.
As bitcoin cooled down in the new year, gold resumed its upward trajectory and eventually peaked near $1,370 at the end of January.
Below are the charting patterns for gold and bitcoin going back one full year.
The latest divergence is easy to spot. Since hitting a settlement high of $1,360 on Apr. 11, bullion has declined 2%. Over the same period, bitcoin surged 27%.
Bitcoin’s oversized percentage move relative to gold is a reflection of underlying volatility in the cryptocurrency market. Crypto assets as a whole are but a tiny fraction of gold’s $7.8 trillion worth. That said, the digital asset class peaked above $830 billion earlier this year, making the case for a trillion-dollar market more believable.
Strategists have identified a strong inverse trading pattern between gold and bullion stretching all the way back to the fall, right around the time that cryptocurrencies rebounded from a China-induced selloff. As bitcoin and other cryptos surged, gold experienced a steep fall from a high above $1,351 in early September to a low of $1,241 just three months later.
As bitcoin cooled down in the new year, gold resumed its upward trajectory and eventually peaked near $1,370 at the end of January.
Below are the charting patterns for gold and bitcoin going back one full year.
The latest divergence is easy to spot. Since hitting a settlement high of $1,360 on Apr. 11, bullion has declined 2%. Over the same period, bitcoin surged 27%.
Bitcoin’s oversized percentage move relative to gold is a reflection of underlying volatility in the cryptocurrency market. Crypto assets as a whole are but a tiny fraction of gold’s $7.8 trillion worth. That said, the digital asset class peaked above $830 billion earlier this year, making the case for a trillion-dollar market more believable.
Systemic Risks
Proponents of bitcoin’s safe-haven status generally agree that the cryptocurrency is well suited to outperform the market during periods of heightened economic and political instability. This is generally believed to be the period in which gold prices thrive. However, unlike gold, bitcoin has also outperformed during periods of relative calm.
The second-largest bull market in history started off as a positive for gold as prices crossed $1,900 a troy ounce in 2011. However, bullion hasn’t been able to hit anywhere near those levels ever since. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has been the world’s best-performing currency (if one calls it that) in six of the past eight years.
Although the charts seem to indicate an inverse relationship between gold and bitcoin, it’s much more difficult to prove that investors are swapping one asset for the other at any given time. There’s some anecdotal evidence to suggest this is the case but a lack of trading data makes it difficult to conclude definitively one way or the other.
Supply and demand factors must also be weighed in analyzing the price trajectory of both assets. Gold’s total supply is increasing by an average of less than 2% annually, according to the World Gold Council. At the other end of the spectrum, the final bitcoin is expected to be mined in 2140, with total supplies engineered to decline until that date.
On the demand side, gold has been losing its allure as investors continued to pile into stocks. In 2017, appetite for bullion fell by 7%, with gold-backed ETFs plunging to one-third of the previous year’s demand. On the other hand, bitcoin’s demand has skyrocketed as more traders noticed its meteoric rise.
One area in which bitcoin has an advantage over gold is non-correlation. As the above examples clearly demonstrate, BTC is not correlated with the broader market. Gold, on the other hand, is influenced by risk-off sentiment, geopolitics, interest rates and inflation, among others. At present, these factors may play into the hands of bullion as investors prepare for the new business cycle.
Proponents of bitcoin’s safe-haven status generally agree that the cryptocurrency is well suited to outperform the market during periods of heightened economic and political instability. This is generally believed to be the period in which gold prices thrive. However, unlike gold, bitcoin has also outperformed during periods of relative calm.
The second-largest bull market in history started off as a positive for gold as prices crossed $1,900 a troy ounce in 2011. However, bullion hasn’t been able to hit anywhere near those levels ever since. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has been the world’s best-performing currency (if one calls it that) in six of the past eight years.
Although the charts seem to indicate an inverse relationship between gold and bitcoin, it’s much more difficult to prove that investors are swapping one asset for the other at any given time. There’s some anecdotal evidence to suggest this is the case but a lack of trading data makes it difficult to conclude definitively one way or the other.
Supply and demand factors must also be weighed in analyzing the price trajectory of both assets. Gold’s total supply is increasing by an average of less than 2% annually, according to the World Gold Council. At the other end of the spectrum, the final bitcoin is expected to be mined in 2140, with total supplies engineered to decline until that date.
On the demand side, gold has been losing its allure as investors continued to pile into stocks. In 2017, appetite for bullion fell by 7%, with gold-backed ETFs plunging to one-third of the previous year’s demand. On the other hand, bitcoin’s demand has skyrocketed as more traders noticed its meteoric rise.
One area in which bitcoin has an advantage over gold is non-correlation. As the above examples clearly demonstrate, BTC is not correlated with the broader market. Gold, on the other hand, is influenced by risk-off sentiment, geopolitics, interest rates and inflation, among others. At present, these factors may play into the hands of bullion as investors prepare for the new business cycle.
Original Article : hacked.com