Bitcoin (BTC) has in fact functioned very well as a store of value before the coronavirus crisis, raw data suggests.
In a Twitter discussion on May 1, Travis Kling, head of crypto hedge fund Ikigai, produced fresh evidence that, despite volatility, Bitcoin has preserved its investors’ wealth.
BTC protected hodlers from “catastrophic event”
Since February, BTC/USD has delivered stable returns of 0.6%, Kling said, smoothing out any pain to “hodlers” sparked by one of the most unnerving financial implosions of recent history last month.
“The price of #Bitcoin increased 0.60% from the end of February to the end of April amidst one of the most catastrophic economic events in history,” he summarized.
A store of value.
The narrative of Bitcoin as a store of value in its current state has undergone a metamorphosis since the start of 2020.
After the March crash, the largest cryptocurrency has in fact seen periods during which it was less volatile than traditional markets, including stocks and oil.
Signs of a gradual decoupling from market price movements further reinforce a positive outlook for Bitcoin as a long-term wealth preservation tool.
Macro assets year-to-date returns. Source: Skew
Pantera CEO: BTC will “come of age” in 2020
Responding to Kling, criticism of Bitcoin from Bloomberg editor Joe Weisenthal, who contended that the U.S. dollar was more stable, saw a swift putdown.
As both Kling and previously Cointelegraph noted, the dollar’s huge inflation relative to Bitcoin logically no longer allows it to compete for the store of value title.
Bitcoin’s inflation rate will drop to 1.8% in around two weeks’ time as its third block reward halving takes place.
Year to date, meanwhile, data from monitoring resource Skew confirms that Bitcoin is the best macro asset play, even beating gold.
On that topic, Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera Capital, summarized this week:
Bitcoin was born in a financial crisis. It will come of age in this one.