The cryptocurrency underperformed this week as an economic safe haven. But bitcoiners are taking a longer term view.
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that there is no counterparty risk in bitcoin when it is decentralized and everything is visible on the network.
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The new all-time highs come despite Bitcoin still being down over 50% against its price peak of $69,000 against the U.S. dollar.
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Erik Anderson of Global X explains how volatility – something many investors are scared of – can be a very good thing in crypto.
Bitcoin Approaches $30K, Reaching Highest Price Since June
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The hedge fund manager instead wants to see an “inflation-linked coin” be brought to the masses which would serve to ensure consumers secure their buying power.
Why Goldman Sachs Expects This Asset Class To Outperform Bitcoin
A research note from Goldman Sachs published on Monday has painted a bull case for gold over the price of bitcoin. The bank’s research note comes at a time when the entirety of the crypto market is facing adversity and the price of bitcoin is down more than 70% from its all-time high price at current levels. According to Goldman Sachs, gold actually presents the opportunity that investors seem to be looking for in bitcoin.
Gold Is A Better Inflation Hedge
In the research note, Goldman Sachs says it expects gold to perform better than bitcoin in the long run given its already established use cases. For one, gold remains a hedge against inflation and dollar debasement, as well as being a better portfolio diversifier compared to bitcoin.
Additionally, Goldman Sachs explained that gold is not as affected by tighter liquidity as BTC. Since there is more demand for gold, it tends to do better in situations such as these whereas digital assets such as bitcoin tend to succumb to such liquidity crunches.
The research note also compares bitcoin to a “risk-on high-growth tech company stock.” As well as the digital asset’s value is based on future use cases instead of established use cases like in the case of gold. It explained that since bitcoin is “a solution looking for a problem,” it is more prone to volatility and is a more speculative asset compared to gold.
Can Bitcoin Close The Gap?
Bitcoin is often referred to as the ‘digital gold’ due to its performance over the years. It has been utilized as an inflation hedge by many at various stages, but the bull and bear cycles can see BTC fall short as a hedge during times such as these. Add in the collapse of major players in the space and the digital asset has taken massive hits in the past year.
Goldman Sachs points to the recent implosion of the FTX crypto exchange in bitcoin’s recent high volatility, noting such collapses as the cause of the decline. “Bitcoin’s volatility to the downside was also enhanced by systemic concerns as several large players filed for bankruptcy,” the research note said.
Given these, the investment bank believes that gold is set to outperform bitcoin in the long run. “Moreover, gold may benefit from structurally higher macro volatility and a need to diversify equity exposure,” it added.
Why Bitcoin Will Never Surpass The Market Cap Of Gold
Bitcoin has been pitted against gold at various turns since the digital asset started going mainstream. Enthusiasts have finally settled on referring to the former as ‘digital gold’ while continuing to push that bitcoin will replace gold as the default store of value in the coming years. However, not all bitcoin supporters seem to share this school of thought despite the asset’s growth.
Billionaire Ray Dalio is a supporter of bitcoin and has been vocal about his support for the digital asset at various times in the past, but it seems that Dalio does not believe that bitcoin will replace gold. In a recent podcast episode with Lex Fridman, the billionaire investor shares some insight into both assets and why he believes bitcoin cannot surpass gold in terms of market cap.
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$1 Million Bitcoin Is Impossible
Talking to Fridman, the billionaire laid out his reasons why bitcoin will be unable to replace gold. He points to the traceability of bitcoin and compared this to gold which he says is untraceable as it is not connected. Furthermore, gold is a universally recognized store of value while only a small percentage of the world is estimated to use bitcoin as an investment and a store of value.
He explains that gold still maintains the lead ahead of bitcoin which he does not yet believe will become the apex or the universally accepted form of money. Gold, for one, has been around for thousands of years and is still an accepted form of money or store of value.
BTC falls to $49K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
For the reasons that he outlined, Dalio does not believe that bitcoin will ever be able to surpass gold. Furthermore, he explains that he does not believe that bitcoin will reach the price page of $1 million which some bitcoin maximalists have pushed in recent times.
Still A Strong Contender For Gold
Dalio did not completely dismiss how valuable bitcoin is though. The billionaire lauded bitcoin by proclaiming that the digital asset has proved itself despite not being able to serve as a currency due to its volatility. The digital asset has proven to be a safe way to invest as it has never been hacked and continues to operate according to its original programming.
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“It has proven itself. It has not been hacked, it has operated in an amazing way over that 11 years to be probably the most exciting topic among a lot of people,” said Dalio. ”It has been used and is now obtained the status of having imputed value.”
The billionaire also revealed that bitcoin ranked highly on his list of assets that he considers to be strong competitors for gold. He still maintains that gold is still his favorite investment but has not written off bitcoin from the running either. A few months ago, Dalio had revealed that he held a small portion of holdings in bitcoin, and had added ethereum to his stash too.
Featured image from Bitcoin News, chart from TradingView.com
Galaxy Digital CEO Explains Why Ethereum Is Outperforming Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s utility as an inflation hedge has been a big push for the adoption of the cryptocurrency by investors. Ethereum on the other hand is fast-rising to become the preferred crypto for hedging against inflation for investors. The digital asset’s performance over the past couple of years has proven that it is a strong contender for bitcoin given the year-over-year returns recorded.
Only five years old, Ethereum has grown to become one of the largest assets in the world. It was recently named as the 15th largest asset in the globe, ahead of all of the big banks. Further adoption of Ethereum going forward is inevitable and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has commented on why Ethereum continues to outperform pioneer cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
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Ethereum Is A Technology Play
Novogratz attributed the growth of Ethereum to the technology which is an attractive point for investors. Ethereum has proven to be one of the cryptocurrencies with the most use cases, especially with the advent of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Sitting down with CNBC for an interview on Wednesday, the CEO pointed out that Ethereum’s offering is larger than an inflation play.
In contrast to this, bitcoin’s biggest offering still hinges on its being an inflation bet. The digital asset which has a supply cap of 21 million coins has always attracted investors due to its deflationary nature. However, Novogratz pointed out that bitcoin starts to lose its appeal when it is being pitted against a devalued currency like the dollar.
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Ethereum combats the problem of being just an inflation bet by providing innovative tech in the blockchain industry. “People see Ethereum as a technology bet,” Novogratz noted.
Since investors are betting on the tech rather than its use as an inflation hedge, it serves a better long-term purpose compared to bitcoin. This has helped it steal market share from the top cryptocurrency and continues to do so.
Technology Trumps Inflation
An increasingly pressing issue for investors has been the rate at which the Fed has been pumping money into the economy. Experts have called for a stop to the incessant money printing, which is driving inflation rates through the roof but the pleas and warnings have fallen on deaf ears. So, investors have had to turn to crypto investments that have proven themselves to properly hedge inflation, such as bitcoin.
ETH getting ready to test $4,000 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com
Bitcoin bull and crypto supporter Mike Novogratz sees all of the money printing working out in the favor of cryptocurrencies in what he calls a “monster fourth quarter”. He however did not limit this expected bull market to crypto alone. Novogratz also expects to see the stock market continue its rally.
Featured image from FT.com, chart from TradingView.com
