Leading cryptocurrencies mirrored the stock market decline this week, with barometer Bitcoin BTC/USD plummeting to lows not seen since February.
Bitcoin's downswing ignited a fresh debate around its store of value narrative, a major sticking point between advocates of the cryptocurrency and its skeptics.
The concerns were exacerbated by the fact that gold, the traditional safe-haven asset, dropped a little over 1% on Monday, while "digital gold" cratered 16%.
Hence, it begs the question — Is Bitcoin more integrated than traditional markets than ever, and hence no more the outlier?
Benzinga talked about experts to understand if it's indeed the case or is it too early to arrive at any informed conclusions.
‘Anyone Believing Bitcoin’s Store Of Value Theory Is Delusional’
Robert R. Johnson, Professor of Finance, Heider College of Business, Creighton University, refused to read too much into the recent market swings.
"I don't see increased coupling (between Bitcoin and stocks). I see Bitcoin trading as an extremely speculative supposed asset," Johnson stated. "Volatility is a part of any market, and these moves are not out of the ordinary.”
That said, Johnson categorically slammed arguments around the cryptocurrency being an inflation hedge or a store of value.
"Bitcoin is a nascent asset. Anyone who believed it to be either an inflation hedge or a store of value is delusional. It is an extreme-risk asset — pure and simple. The comparisons to gold are ludicrous."
‘Cryptos More Correlated To Each Other Than Equities’
Chris Martin, Head of Research at Amberdata, a cryptocurrency data analytics firm that supports financial institutions like Citi, Nasdaq, and Franklin Templeton, echoed Johnson's views, ruling out any significant coupling between the two asset classes.
"What we’re seeing is a global unwinding amid several macro factors, with crypto’s crash being affected far more by large liquidations," he explained. Instead, he said that cryptocurrencies were far more correlated to each other than stocks, citing similar declines in other coins such as Solana SOL/USD and Binance Coin BNB/USD.
As a result, Martin was convinced that Bitcoin's inflation hedge narrative still holds.
Daniel Cawrey, Chief Strategy Officer at Tonkeeper, and author of the books "Mastering Blockchain" and "Understanding Crypto," had a divergent view.
He said it has become "tough" to call Bitcoin an outlier in 2024, given King Crypto's expanding footprints in TradFi through exchange-traded funds.
"The high AUM and daily volumes from the top ETFs created traditional finance liquidity in the market for bitcoin – so it’s easier to hit that sell button and get a good price for Bitcoin more than ever before," Cawrey explained. "Bitcoin is most definitely a bellwether for crypto, yet it is ultimately beholden to traditional markets now.
See Also: Peter Schiff Says Owning Bitcoin In ETFs Is The Antithesis Of ‘Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins’ — Gets A Gold Jibe In Return From Noted Analyst
While perspectives hold significance, it's important to note that things can change quickly in capital markets, and more so in the case of cryptocurrencies.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $56,869.46, up 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo by Shuttershock
These insights set the stage for deeper discussions at the upcoming Benzinga Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.
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