Gold Up 7%, Bitcoin Down 25%The decline has challenged earlier notions of Bitcoin being a viable gold alternative, considering its decentralized nature and general detachment from the broader financial space. These aspects of the currency were widely lauded during Bitcoin’s stellar rally last year, where it surged to nearly $70,000.
But while the rally was indeed steep, a large portion of it was backed by institutional interest in the token. The influx of big investment houses has seen Bitcoin behave more like conventional markets, specifically, stocks.
Losses in Bitcoin this year have mirrored those in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, which is down about 22%.
Gold the preferred inflation hedge?
Fears of rising inflation had also seen markets tout Bitcoin as a potential inflation hedge, ie, returns on the currency would be consistently above annual inflation rates.
But with the token trading down for the year, such a notion seems rendered moot. Gold on the other hand, is trading close to the level of annual inflation in the U.S.- which had surged by 7.5% in January. The reading had rattled crypto markets earlier in February, while supporting gold.
Bitcoin’s recent sensitivity to inflation also makes it averse to rising interest rates. A bulk of the token’s decline this year has been driven by hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, which has planned a rate hike in March.
