Bitcoin volatility sinks to lowest in nearly two years

Tom Wilson

 

A bitcoin logo is seen at a facility of the Youth and Sports Ministry in Caracas, Venezuela February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin has experienced one of its worst annual price performances of its short 10-year-old life but also appears to have become more stable in the process.

 

Volatility of the original and biggest cryptocurrency has sunk to its lowest for nearly two years, with price swings falling lower than increasingly edgy U.S. stocks for more than two weeks in a row.

 

Measured on a weekly basis, bitcoin volatility is set to fall to its lowest since the end of 2016, when the digital coin was still a niche asset yet to muscle its way into global focus.

 

Volatility has been a major characteristic of the digital currency, which turned 10-years-old last week, throwing up major hurdles to its emergence as a mainstream asset class.

 

Most mainstream institutional investors, skeptical about its ability to store value in any predictable way, have also stayed clear. At the same time, regulators across the globe have emphasized price instability when issuing warnings to retail investors dabbling in the cryptocurrency.

 

Volatility has also prevented the spread of bitcoin as a method of payments, its intended purpose.

 

Traders and investors are waiting for clarity on how regulators will treat bitcoin products such as exchange-traded funds, leading to them holding off on major purchases or sales.

 

A fall in trading volumes over the last three months is also a key factor, said Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, CEO of BCB Group, a cryptocurrency prime broker.

 

In contrast to bitcoin, volatility in the S&P 500 .SPX, has since late September climbed to near seven-month highs. Investors in U.S. stocks are worried over rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and global trade and protectionism.

 

Stocks rally peters out as trade, Fed worries dominate

 

Bitcoin soared over 1,300 percent last year to a record high of almost $20,000 in December. This year it has slumped as much as 70 percent, before settling into a period of relative stability since September.

 

On Tuesday it was trading at around $6,420.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-07

Of course it have grown stronger in the process of sinking. Shit can only hit rock bottom. That´s the only safe story to tell.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Volatility has also prevented the spread of bitcoin as a method of payments, its intended purpose.

Its intended purpose was money laundering, specifically to allow transfer of funds out of Russia.  It's no surprise that the scam is coming to an end as it became mainstream and financial institutions blocked the contagion.

Sure do pity those HODL guys that couldn't see what it is. 

 

 

 

Though of course those HODL guys on Thai Visa bought it when it was 10 a penny so are still up 10 trillion percent. ????

Time to buy ?

Oh dear how sad never mind

With a much higher number of holders than in the past, diverse opinions about its direction providing thicker "book" and a liquid futures market in Wall Street / Chicago making it easy for institutions to participate, less volatility is well expected.

 

This of course is no guarantee for the current price to climb or even hold steady for the longer term. There are many alternatives.