Bitcoin (BTC) price is slowly recovering, reaching $5,500, after last weeks Black Monday style market meltdown which led to Bitcoin price pulling back sharply as traditional markets suffered the third worst trading day ever. Mondays correction was followed by major cryptocurrencies - Ether (ETH), XRP, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) all losing 11.6%, 8.3%, and 4.2%, respectively.

Crypto market daily price chart. Source: Coin360

The dump in crypto prices has raised further doubts over the classification or use-case of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at-large. Bitcoin's safe haven argument as digital gold is being put in question as golds year-to-date returns surpassed Bitcoin and all other asset classes.

Notable Bitcoin critic, Peter Schiff addressed the relationships between Bitcoin and traditional assets to claim its lack of value for investors:

Bitcoin is no longer a non-correlated asset. It's positively correlated to risk assets like equities and negatively correlated to safe-haven assets like gold. When risk assets go down, Bitcoin goes down more. But when risk assets go up, Bitcoin goes up less. No value in that!

On the other hand, it has been reported that financial advisors suggested that Bitcoin was a good alternative investment to consider adding to ones portfolio. This raises doubt that the relationships between crypto and traditional assets claimed by Peter Schiff are observed in different scenarios.

During January 2020, Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) saw gains of 26.2% and 32.9%, respectively. At the same time, in such a positive period for the top cryptocurrencies, traditional assets such as the S&P 500 gained (1.96%) and the Nasdaq composite remained approximately the same (- 0.16%).

Cumulative returns for BTC, ETH, Oil, Gold, S&P 500, and Nasdaq during January 2020.

Looking at the correlations between the 4 assets in January, we find the opposite relationship to the one mentioned by Peter Schiff. Bitcoin and Ether are negatively correlated with both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

Bitcoin is correlated at -24.4% with the Nasdaq composite during this period, while Ether has a smaller negative correlation at -16.2%.

Regarding the S&P 500, Bitcoin is negatively correlated at -19.7%, while Ether has a smaller negative correlation of 7.9%.

This is the opposite of Schiffs comments, as, during a positive scenario, Bitcoin goes up more than other risk assets, as seen from the returns obtained during January. Moreover, Bitcoin and Ether have a correlation with equities in the opposite direction (negative), which is contrary to Schiffs comments.

A correlation of 100% means that either Bitcoin or Ether and each traditional asset move completely in the same direction, while -100% correlation means they are inversely related. A correlation of 0% means that the variables are not related in any way.

In January both Bitcoin and Ether returns showed a positive correlation with gold at 24.1% and 22% respectively. The relationship between Bitcoin, Ether, and WTI oil returns was also positive and in higher magnitude 33.6% in the case of Bitcoin and 34.7% for Ether. This is the opposite of Schiff's comments as gold and Bitcoin are positively correlated instead of negatively.

In February Bitcoin price dropped about 7.5%, while Ether gained more than 23%. During this negative period for Bitcoin, its relationships with stock indexes were the opposite from the one observed during January (a positive period in price). Bitcoin was correlated at 5.85% with the Nasdaq and at 21.3% with the S&P 500.

In February, Ether gained in price and its returns were positively correlated with the Nasdaq (20.2%) and the S&P 500 (31.1%)

Cumulative returns for BTC, ETH, Oil, Gold, S&P 500, and Nasdaq during February 2020.

Throughout February, gold was still correlated at 21.1% with Bitcoin, while Ether was correlated at 17.2%. Januarys relationship with oil was also quite similar, with correlations at 32.3% and 36% for Bitcoin and Ether, respectively.

Since March, both Bitcoin and Ether cumulative returns have performed worse than equities markets. This trend follows the argument made by Schiff that when risk assets go down, Bitcoin goes down more.

However, Bitcoin and Ether returns have shown a high positive correlation in the first 12 days of March, with gold at over 70%, and between 66% and 69.5% with the stock indexes. The lowest correlation was with oil between 32% and 34%, which has also seen a great decrease in price. This challenges Bitcoin and Ether's role as safe-haven assets during severe market conditions.

Nevertheless, if we look at year-to-date returns, even after bloody-Thursday, Bitcoin still holds a better return than other risk assets like the S&P 500 or oil, even though each are negative in this period.

Year-to-Date returns for BTC, Gold, Oil, S&P 500, and US Dollar. Source: Skew.com

Looking forward, investors are now aware that under historical-negative market conditions, gold may still be the real safe-haven asset. However, Bitcoin may be an alternative during these periods, while in other periods it appears to offer the best option for investors.

Data for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, Gold and Crude Oil from https://finance.yahoo.com.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Bitcoin Safe Haven Narrative in Question After Biggest Drop in 7 Years - Cointelegraph

Bitcoin has again begun moving lower, following broader financial markets down as investors count the cost of the spreading coronavirus.

The bitcoin price, which had found a temporary floor of just over $5,000 per bitcoin late last week, sunk to lows of $4,787 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange early this morning.

Bitcoin's latest fall comes as the U.S. Federal Reserve, working with the U.K., Japan, the eurozone, Canada, and Switzerland, tried to shore up financial markets with massive stimulusbut many feel the central banks haven't gone far enough and some have warned the bitcoin price could crash even further.

Bitcoin prices had stabilized over the weekend but have now begun sliding again.

The bitcoin price surged higher when the Fed yesterday announced it would cut interest rates to a target range of 0% to 0.25% and said it would begin quantitative easing to pump $700 billion worth of cash directly into the economy.

Bitcoin briefly jumped to almost $6,000 per bitcoin before falling back almost immediatelylosing almost 10% over the last 24-hour trading period.

Elsewhere on crypto markets, other major digital tokens fell alongside bitcoin with the likes of ethereum, Ripple's XRP, litecoin and bitcoin cash all losing between 5% and 12% over the same period.

"Crypto-asset markets again seem to be mirroring the actions of the traditional markets," said Simon Peters, analyst and bitcoin expert at brokerage eToro.

"However, fear is arguably a more dominant emotion than greed at the moment, because even with this stimulus, investors are still very worried about global economies grinding to a halt due to COVID-19."

U.S. equity futures and global stocks tumbled after the Fed made its historic move, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures each dropping to their out-of-hours trading limits of about 5% in out-of-hours trading.

"There can be no denying the Feds commitment to action but its dramatic move will initially stoke further debate as to whether the monetary medicine will work, on the economy or markets or both," said Russ Mould, investment director at stock broker AJ Bell.

Many senior figures in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency community have argued the Fed's bond-buying and interest rate cuts highlight bitcoin's superiority to traditional markets.

"The Fed just cut rates to zero and entered into QE again. Bitcoin was built for this moment," said Dan Held, U.S.-based bitcoin and crypto exchange Kraken's head of businesses development, via Twitter.

"Bitcoin is a hedge to this," cofounder of the U.S.-based Gemini bitcoin and crypto exchange, Tyler Winklevoss, said via Twitter.

The bitcoin price failed to be supported by the latest central bank measures to prop up the economy. ... [+]

"Bitcoin doesnt have a 'limit down' or 'circuit breakers' because it is a real market with a real clearing price," bitcoin and cryptocurrency expert and cofounder of the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute, Pierre Rochard, tweeted.

"Stocks and bonds are not real markets, they are Potemkin villages, their prices are highly manipulated and political."

Read more:
Bitcoin Is Back In Free Fall And Dropping FastHeres Why - Forbes

Another enormous program of quantitative easing (QE) ought to benefit bitcoin, both in terms of its reputation as a hedge against centralized changes to the financial system, but also directly, as asset prices gradually rise across the board.

While QE may be anathema to crypto hardliners, some experts agree the net effect on prices is positive, one way or another.

QE has helped drive up the price of bitcoin (BTC) over the past decade, according to economist and author Frances Coppola. What QE does is raise asset prices across the board and that would include new alternative assets like bitcoin, she said.

The idea bitcoin is somehow uncorrelated with the financial mainstream is now being convincingly laid to rest, Coppola added (last weeks coronavirus shock saw bitcoin shedding close to 50 percent of its value).

Central banks conducted three rounds of QE between 2009 and 2015, during which time the S&P 500 rallied by more than 200 percent. Gold, a classic safe-haven asset, rose from $800 to $1,921 in the three years leading up to 2011 only to fall back to $1,050 by December 2015. Since the last financial crash in 2008, QE helped global private wealth grow by two-thirds to $166 trillion, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

However, the notion that expending the quantity of money in developed economies leads to hyperinflation a popular idea among some bitcoin advocates is false, Coppola said.

There is absolutely no evidence that QE causes hyperinflation. The way QE works is to push investors into higher-yielding assets and bitcoin, while being unbelievably volatile, is higher yielding. So what you actually get are asset bubbles, including bitcoin, she said.

In the current state of crisis, the bazooka of measures by the Federal Reserve failed to stabilize markets caught in a desperate flight towards cash. To counteract the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve announced a $700 billion bond buying program and that it would be cutting the interest depository institutions charge one another overnight for reserves to between 0.0 and 0.25 percent.

Simon Peters, a market analyst at eToro, agreed that once the rise in COVID-19 cases outside China tails off, investors will be looking toward assets like bitcoin.

Investor sentiment could shift to, Now I have all of this cash and with the increase in monetary supply, what do I do and where do I put it? said Peters, adding:

Holding cash is not beneficial in these circumstances because the currency has been devalued and you are losing purchasing power so where do you put it? That is potentially where the likes of bitcoin and other crypto-assets may see the benefit.

A so-called Cantillon Effect refers to the change in relative prices resulting from a shift in the money supply. Assets like stocks and real estate become overpriced, meaning assets like bitcoin become more attractive over time, as noted by analyst Pierre Rochard and VanEck director Gabor Gurbacs.

Based on whats happening in the mainstream financial system, bitcoin still counts as Doomsday insurance, according to Alex Mashinsky, CEO of crypto lending platform Celsius Network.

They are printing money that did not exist yesterday and they are giving it to everybody, Mashinsky said of central banks. But you cant say, We have this disease so we are going to print another 5 million bitcoin, or, We want to be re-elected so we are going to print another 10 million bitcoin, he said.

For some time now, Caitlin Long, the force behind Wyomings blockchain legislation and now CEO of Avanti Financial Group, has been critical of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Long called for increased capital requirements on banks to deleverage the situation, back when there were rumblings in the repo market that liquidity was starting to become scarce.

History is not going to support the decision of the FOMC to ease the banks' capital requirements, she said.

Central banks are running the same playbook as always and it's not working, Long said, adding:

The quantity of stimulus that they are throwing at this is staggering in size if you compare it to the size of QE1, QE2 they are now doing QE1s in a single day, when QE1 was done over a span of months.

The QE1 program lasted from December 2008 until March 2010 and saw the Fed buying $600 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $100 billion in other debt.

For the first time in several years, Long said she went out and bought some bitcoin right after markets crashed last week (she cautioned this is not to be read as financial advice).

All I know is bitcoin is an asset that is no one's IOU. I would prefer to diversify my wealth away from assets that are someone's IOU, when I don't know if that someone is solvent, Long said.

Halving ahead

As traditional finance zigs down the QE route, bitcoin is zagging in the opposite direction.

In two months, the supply of new bitcoin will be reduced by 50 percent an occurrence scheduled for roughly every four years known as the halving.

As the U.S. government prints another trillion-plus dollars, this will have long-term ramifications on inflation and dilution of money. On the other hand, we will still have 21 million [bitcoins] available, ever, said Alex Blum, COO of Hong Kong-based fintech firm Two Prime. The halvening will happen when its set to happen.

Bitcoins scarcity to value argument involves an ideological statement of faith, in Coppolas opinion.

There will always be people who believe that scarcity alone is sufficient to make something valuable. In actual fact, something that is so scarce that nobody wants to buy it isn't valuable at all. Things need to have liquidity, she said.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Experts Say the Fed's QE Program Will Strengthen Bitcoin One Way or Another - CoinDesk - Coindesk

Omar Marques | LightRocket | Getty Images

Bitcoin lost its allure as a safe-haven asset this week.

The world's first and most widely held cryptocurrency dropped 50% over the past two days. Bitcoin sometimes referred to as "digital gold" fell more than 30% Friday to its weakest level since March 2019, according to data from CoinDesk.

The cryptocurrency briefly dropped below $4,000 Friday after starting the week above $9,000. It later recovered to roughly $5,400 as of the close of U.S. markets.Bitcoin Futures, meanwhile, were on pace for its worst week since debuting in December 2017.

The digital currency had been trading near the $10,000 level in mid-February. The slide began later in the month alongside global markets reeling from the quickly spreading coronavirus.

"Bitcoin's recent price action is primarily a result of the coronavirus outbreak affecting global markets and driving investors towards the safety of cash," said Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto investment firm BitBull Capital. "With this sharp decline, Bitcoin's potential as a safe-haven asset is being questioned, but we believe it is too early to seek any correlations between Bitcoin and other asset classes."

The bitcoin nosedive came amidst volatile trading on Wall Street this week. On Thursday, stocks saw their worstsince the "Black Monday" market crash in 1987. Stocks rose sharply Friday afternoon on the possibility of fiscal stimulus from governments around the world.

Other cryptocurrencies also dropped this week. The world second largest digital currency, ethereum, fell 46% this week while XRP lost nearly 40% of its value.

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Bitcoin loses half of its value in two-day plunge - CNBC

Noelle Acheson is a veteran of company analysis and CoinDesks director of research. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors own.

The following article originally appeared inInstitutional Crypto by CoinDesk, a weekly newsletter focused on institutional investment in crypto assets.Sign up for free here.

Listen. That whooshing sound you hear is not just the bitcoin (BTC) price. Its also the sound of the safe-haven narrative flying out the window, probably for ever.

March 12 was not bitcoins worst 24-hour price crash ever. That honor belongs to April 11, 2013, when bitcoin fell by almost 50 percent.

Comparing the twocrashes helps to understand what happened this week. It also helps to form a pictureof what this sector could look like going forward.

For context, in April 2013 Ethereum had not yet launched, Mt. Gox was the largest bitcoin exchange and the Harlem Shake meme dominated the internet. The previous month, the price ranged between $34 and $94, and the average transaction (according to Coin Metrics) was under $800.

Chinese demand powered the retail-driven market. Professional custody services were just warming up (BitGo, one of the first, was formed in 2013). Coinbase was less than a year old. BitMEX had not yet created the perpetual swap. Heck, CoinDesk didnt even exist then (we started publishing the following month).

In 2013, bitcoin was the asset of the future, a decentralized representation of value, a protest against powerlessness and a way for savers to reduce their vulnerability to central bank action. Market participants believed in the story. By some accounts, the price started to rise along with international attention on the Cyprus banking crisis, in which a haircut was applied to all deposits over 100,000 at the two largest banks.

If you were a 2013 bitcoin investor and you time-travelled to now, you would not recognize the scene. Chinese demand has dissipated. Mt. Gox is a bitter memory. A lively derivatives market drives volume. Big, incumbent financial institutions have set up digital asset desks. Really, youd pinch yourself.

You might also be a bit alarmed. Youd love the legitimacy and the platform sophistication, and youd get genuinely excited about all the smart people who have left their finance jobs to work in crypto. Youd almost certainly be stunned the sector has evolved so quickly. And youd be thrilled the institutions have taken an interest. Finally, professional traders have grasped the possibilities.

But youd also wonder wherethe ideology went, where was the focus on empowerment rather than profits.

Crypto markets went and grew up. They substituted their hoodie for a button-down and put on some big-boy shoes. They made new friends, became more responsible and entered a new world of risk.

A tale of two crashes

To get a feel for howthat risk has changed the sector, lets look at the market behavior of the twocrashes.

Back then most market participants were long. The absence of a liquid derivatives market made shorting relatively cumbersome and expensive. Trading was dominated by those who had taken the time to understand bitcoin, and they acted according to whether they thought it was over- or under-valued. The April 11 crash was triggered by profit taking the price had more than tripled in the previous two weeks. It was a narrative-driven slump.

Whats more, it wasisolated. That same week, the S&P 500 was largely flat, as was gold. It wasentirely a bitcoin story.

Today the market is dominated by professional trading desks. They know about markets. While many are probably attracted to the idea of a fiat alternative, their jobs are about playing numbers. For them, its not about bitcoin, its about volatility.

Last weeks crash was a liquidity event, triggered by margin calls in crypto and other assets, and by a massive investor panic. This crash was about raising cash and covering liquidity. It had nothing to do with bitcoin itself.

Nor was it isolated the S&P 500 suffered its worst 24-hour slump in history. Bitcoins story was not part of the activity this week. Bitcoin was just another financial asset getting trampled as investors headed for the exit.

That is why its safehaven narrative has died.

And thats a goodthing. Lets look at why.

First, bitcoin was never a safe haven. Even before this recent crash it was just too volatile, too young and too untested for that role. In spite of the lack of logic, the narrative endured because so many wanted it to be true.

Now that we can put that legend to rest an asset that can fall by over 40 percent intraday is unlikely to ever be taken seriously as a safe haven more realistic expectations should emerge. This will support credibility amongst the investment community and perhaps give bitcoin a more justifiable role in portfolio management.

Also, this week has revealed there is no such thing as a safe haven. Gold and T-bills, the assets the market traditionally turns to in times of turmoil, also fell, largely due to liquidity squeezes. Investors were scrambling to raise cash this week but even that safe-haven asset could come under strain as the global economy tips into recession and geopolitics adds tensions to monetary policy as well as faith in sovereign credit.

Yet, portfolios need diversification market assumptions may have been turned upside down and trust in correlations may take some time to recover, but the underlying math hasnt changed. Even with investment principles in turmoil, the demand for alternative assets will not go away, and professional investors are already taking stock, adjusting objectives and rebalancing.

New role for bitcoin?

In a world worriedabout income, assets like bitcoin and gold that dont depend on cash flows fortheir valuation are likely to occupy an increasingly important role ininvestment allocations as alternative assets.

The greater the rangeof alternative assets, the better for investors, especially in troubling timeslike these. Analysts and fund managers will be looking for opportunities tooffset the upcoming shift in market fundamentals many are likely to take acloser look at bitcoin, which does not depend on macroeconomic metrics.

In a market whererelationships are broken and assumptions are smashed, an alternative asset vulnerable as it may be to money flows does start to take on an appealingnarrative of its own, more innovative and more credible than that of the safehaven.

With this, the integration into traditional finance that we wanted for bitcoin can do so much more than make it vulnerable to the ravages of global sentiment. It can also finally bring it the opportunity it deserves.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Why Bitcoin's Safe-Haven Narrative Has Flown Out the Window - CoinDesk - Coindesk

Last week, chaos reigned in the cryptocurrency markets. The price of Bitcoin almost halved in one of its bloodiest days in seven years. Adding insult to injury, altcoin markets fell in tandemerasing $25 billion from the total crypto market cap.

Unlike previous dumps, however, Bitcoin's latest descent appeared to be correlated with systemic risk resulting from Covid-19and mirrored movements in the stock markets.

As governments took unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including travel bans and lockdowns of metropolitan areas, markets around the world posted the most dramatic freefall since the 2008 recession. The US equities market cited a loss of $11.5 trillion, wiping off almost four years of solid gains. And even goldthe ultimate safe havenfell to a 3-month low, following a sheer 10% drop in the same week.

Bitcoin, S&P 500 and gold, showing a similar correlation (Source: Yahoo! Finance)

With the coronavirus panic transcending markets and breaking convention, Decrypt asked leading cryptocurrency and finance experts to give their verdict on the best, middle, and worst-case-scenarios for Bitcoin in the coming weeks.

They say it's best to end on a high note. So, with that in mindhere's the bad news first.

Right now, the coronavirus is showing no tangible signs of slowing, though scattered data suggests that the arrival of spring and summer may help curb the virus.

"Should the virus continue to spread, it will likely be devastating for all assets, including Bitcoin," Mati Greenspan, the founder of Quantum Economics, told Decrypt.

It's not just Bitcoin's value at stake, either. Luno Exchange CEO Marcus Swanepoel told Decrypt that adoption rates would be "mildly affected." Which, in turn, would impact BTCs price "in the short to medium-term." It's not unexpectedespecially in the wake of a significant crashto see adoption rates slow; after all, blood filling the street doesn't exactly scream 'jump in.'

Nevertheless, Swanepoel added the caveat that sluggish adoption is not something that will spell significant trouble in the long run. "Bitcoin will recover to its original value," he said.

Golds luster as a safe haven might have tarnished in the current crisis, but Bitcoins own price plunge has made it difficult to maintain its risk-off narrative. Amid this recent slump, even the most ardent proponents of Bitcoin's safe-haven status have been forced to reevaluate, with the likes of Tyler Winklevoss tweeting that, The fact that it's not acting how you might expect only underscores just how early it is.

Ran Neuner, the host of CNBC's Crypto Trader, suggests this is a lingering sore spot for BTC. "I fear that Bitcoin may be going through a mild identity crisis," he told Decrypt. Neuner implies that Bitcoin's safe-haven standing counted on its not being correlated to traditional assets, a thesis that had helduntil the recent crisis.

I fear that Bitcoin may be going through a mild identity crisis.

Ran Neuner

"Bitcoin is now being tested for the first time and it is, unfortunately, behaving like a highly correlated asset," he said. "I suspect Corona and its implications will be very far reaching and be here for a long while. I suspect that central banks, driven by the USA and Trump's needs to win an election will do much more damage to the already over inflated economy and hence I think Bitcoins true test is now."

Regardless of the naysayers, venture capitalist and BTC bull Tim Draper told Decrypt that he stands by Bitcoin as a hedge against macro risk.

"I expect Bitcoin to balance between a safe harbor like gold and a stock like Amazon. Buyers will want to store value in the face of a downturn. The sellers will be strapped for cash and be forced to sell," Draper explained.

Still, with the equities markets in a shambles, gold expunging its 2020 gains, and Bitcoin capitulating on a grand scalethere might soon be nowhere else to turn.

In an attempt to stem the bleeding markets, the world's economies have begun rolling out stimulus packages. Last week the UK announced emergency spending to the tune of $39 billion. This boost came in conjunction with the Bank of England slashing interest rates by half a percent.

The US followed suit on Sunday, with its own economic life preserver. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near zero and pumped $700 billion into the financial sector.

However, lengthy deliberations on a fitting coronavirus stimulus package have decelerated the US government's efforts to revive the markets.

Nevertheless, once passed, the packagealong with the Feds interventioncould be the defibrillator needed to restart the US economy. And the Trump administration is considering even bolder moves; just today, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin floated a plan to send out $1,000 in unrestricted cash to Americans to help them pay the bills.

As long as Bitcoin continues to move in step with traditional assets, America's efforts could prove to lessen some of the ongoing pain.

"Any kind of stimulus is more money in the system," says Swanepoel, alluding to the notion of stimulus trickling into the crypto markets.

Economic meddling aside, Greenspan affirms that as long as efforts to contain the coronavirus prove constructive, Bitcoin could be in for a "full recovery within the next few months."

Now for the good news. For the most part, the consensus appears to be wholly positive for Bitcoin, in the long term.

"The best-case scenario is people recognizing Bitcoin as a safe haven," says Swanepoel. "If that's the case, it will then become one of the world's biggest asset classes in just a matter of months."

While some have distanced themselves from the Bitcoin as digital gold analogy, Swanepoel implies that now is the perfect time to draw a parallel between them. "If we look at gold during the financial crisis, we saw its price fall by 25% and then totally recover all losses in a very short space of time. In 4-6 months, we should have a far clearer picture," he argues.

Indeed, the same happened in late February. Gold slumped from its previous 7-year highonly to stabilize, rebound, and break its previous record. Nowdespite Goldman Sachs declaring it "immune" to coronavirusthe precious metal finds itself at a similar impasse to Bitcoin.

Gold three-month chart (Source: Tradingview)

Neuner concurs with Swanepoel, suggesting that Bitcoin might just need a little time to adjust.

"It is simply too soon to come to any conclusion or to speak credibly about BTC as a non correlated asset," he said. "The true test of correlation comes over a long period of time, through multiple bull and bear markets, crises and recessions, and this is something that gold has managed to establish."

Meanwhile, Greenspan maintains that Bitcoin can only come out on top once the virus has vanished and the economic status quo has returned."Should this scenario materialize it would be very good for asset prices across the board and present quite an opportunity for all investors," he said.

Draper, however, goes a step further. With coronavirus frenzy nearing fever pitch, and investors seeking an exit route out of every perceivable risk, he sees an opportunity for BTC to overhaul the global financial infrastructure.

It is possible that this crisis drives people to look at Bitcoin as an alternative to the current shaky banking system.

Tim Draper

"It is possible that this crisis drives people to look at Bitcoin as an alternative to the current shaky banking system," Draper says, "People could start recognizing that their governments need transforming, and the governments start realizing that they need to provide better services for lower taxes and see opportunities to better provide those services via Bitcoin."

In the meantimedespite its price taking a tumbleBitcoin remains fundamentally unscathed. In its ten-year lifespan, BTC has crashed and recovered in countless cycles, been declared dead 380 times and countingand yet somehow, has managed to prevail time and again.

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

Originally posted here:
Bitcoin and coronavirus: The good, the bad and the ugly - Decrypt

The UKs financial regulator has warned crypto investors and traders that Bitcoin Evolution isnt authorized to operate in Britain. Theyve said that the service could be a scam.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accused Bitcoin Evolution, which provides a crypto trading application, of operating on the British territory without being authorized by the regulator.

The watchdog stressed that almost all companies and individuals providing, promoting, or selling financial products and services in the UK must be authorized. Nevertheless, some firms knowingly run their businesses without authorization, and some even operate investment scams.

The FCA didnt specifically refer to Bitcoin Evolution as a scam. Nevertheless, the regulators tone was as if it had put the firm in the same basket with crypto-related fraudsters.

Be aware that scammers may give out other false details or change their contact details over time to new email addresses, telephone numbers or physical addresses.

Bitcoin Evolution has been targeting potential traders in the UK, conducting regulated activities without seeking authorization.

The regulator called traders and investors to check the Financial Services Register in order to make sure that the company they deal with is legit. The register mentions all firms and individuals green-lighted by the FCA.

Bitcoin Evolution has been aggressively promoting itself online, with many honest reviewers praising the platform and app for its features. The platform acts as a trading bot that allows users to generate profits from fluctuations in the crypto market.

The firm has even used the images of Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Daniel Radcliffe, as well as former Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson, to promote its image. Obviously, the mentioned celebrities dont even know or care about the service.

While some crypto news sites have somehow promoted it, many believe that Bitcoin Evolution is a scam indeed. Previously, the service appeared as Bitcoin Revolution, and it has been proven to be a scam. In the past, the company used the names of Bill Gates and Richard Branson to gain attraction. It seems that the two billionaires are favorites among crypto scams, as Bitcoin Era also used their names.

Have you ever dealt with Bitcoin Evolution? Share your experience in the comments section!

Images via Shutterstock

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Beware of This Bitcoin Company, UK Regulator Warns - Bitcoinist

Bitcoin is showing signs of a decent recovery above $5,000 against the US Dollar. BTC price could recover further towards the $6,000 resistance, where the bears are likely to take a stand.

After a short term downside correction, bitcoin found support near the $4,350 area against the US Dollar. BTC price recovered in the past few sessions and climbed back above the $5,000 resistance level.

The recent recovery was positive since the price was able to clear the 50% Fib retracement level of the key drop from the $6,000 swing high to $4,333 low. The bulls were able to push the price above the $5,200 resistance and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Bitcoin is now trading in a positive zone above the $5,350 level. An initial resistance on the upside is near the $5,600 level. More importantly, there is a short term contracting triangle forming with resistance near $5,600 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Bitcoin Price

The triangle resistance is close to the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the key drop from the $6,000 swing high to $4,333 low. Therefore, a clear break above the $5,600 resistance could open the doors for a push towards the $6,000 level.

Any further gains could lead the price towards the $6,395 level. It represents the 1.236 Fib extension level of the key drop from the $6,000 swing high to $4,333 low.

If bitcoin corrects higher, it is likely to face hurdles near the $6,000 resistance zone. The bears are likely to take a strong stand near $6,000 and $6,050.

The main hurdle is near the $6,400 and $6,500 levels, above which the bulls are likely to have an upper hand. If they fail to lead the price above $6,000 and $6,500, there are high chances of another bearish wave in the near term.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD The MACD is about to move into the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is currently rising and it is above the 50 level.

Major Support Levels $5,200 followed by $5,000.

Major Resistance Levels $5,600, $5,950 and $6,000.

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Heres Why Bitcoin Bears Must Wait for $6K Considering A Correction Is Due - newsBTC

Bitcoin (BTC) endured one of its biggest sell-offs last week, plunging by nearly 50 percent in one day. However, the hodlers who were burnedby the market crash are now coming back, according to Glassnode data.

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The firm, which analyses Bitcoin's on-chain data, spotted that itsHODLer Net Position Change model, which helps determine when whales are selling or buying BTC,flashed green after the brutal price dump.

This means that long-term hodlers followed one of the main principles of contrarian investing -- buying more when there is blood in the streets.

Recently, CoinMetrics determined that short-term holders who were selling at a loss were the main force behind that black Thursday.

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As reported by U.Today, fiat-pegged stablecoins thrived off Bitcoin's failure to serve as a safehaven during the coronavirus pandemic. The circulating supply of Tether (USDT) swelled to $5.3 bln.

However, according to Bitcoin Core developer Jimmy Song, all this money will eventually flood back into Bitcoin when investors decide that it's the right time to buy the dip.

As of now, the market is in a wait-and-see mode, trying to catch the bottom of this correction.

More here:
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Rallies as Trump Offers Free Cash to Americans - U.Today

While the US stock market saw its steepest one-day sell-off since Black Monday in 1987, Bitcoin saw its steepest one-day sell-off in its ten-year history, just a few days before.

But dont worry, that was institutional money running from everything Thursday. Of course, it ran from the risky cryptocurrency industry. Dont forget that institutional investors getting into Bitcoin was a massive driver of its price growth over 2019. So Bitcoin just lost a bunch of people who dont believe in it yet.

Amid the Crypto Winter of 2018, big finance was building significant institutional infrastructure to offer bitcoin custody services to the normies. That included Bakkt, a creation of Intercontinental Exchange, the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange. It included Fidelity Digitals entry into bitcoin custody services in the US and Europe. And it included Bitcoin derivatives on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

As cyber-security and cryptocurrency expert Andreas Antonopoulos pointed out:

You wanted institutional investors and mainstream adoption?

This is what it looks like: Absent the principles of decentralization, traded as a high-volatility asset to add spice to a portfolio.

As soon as price gets uncomfortable, they drop it like a hot potato. We dont.

But despite the carnage, Bitcoin didnt disappear, despite non-stop declarations of it being dead. And heres the really fantastic thing about how Bitcoin performed this week.

The bitcoin sell-off looked much worse than how equities fared, but thats just an illusion. You see, Bitcoin consolidated and rallied like equities Friday. But without the benefit of $1.5 trillion pumped into money markets by the Federal Reserve. Without a half percent interest rate cut by the Fed earlier this month. And without the president teasing massive tax relief.

Isnt it obvious by now? Bitcoin is the only free-market currency of its size in the world. And it has stood up under this crisis of confidence, this absolute maelstrom of FUD, on its own two legs. Thats what a really strong currency looks like. And those with eyes to see it have not missed what just happened.

As one global macro investor put it:

BITCOINERS: Hearing guys whine that btc is krap, not a hedge, not digital gold, its going to zero etc..stfu. Btc is the only true free market in the world. Btc is the only asset that can go down 50% in one day and doesnt need govt intervention to stabilize. It will be fine.

Meanwhile, a Satoshi Nakamoto Institute founder, Pierre Rochard pointed out:

Bitcoin has proven itself to be easier to liquidate than:

stocks, bonds, real estate, gold.All thanks to 24/7 final settlement and 24/7 exchange trading.

The smart money is learning this.

He also added:

Bitcoin proved that it is the ultimate safe-haven asset yesterday (March 12). Even in a crisis, the network stays up, the exchanges trade 24/7, and the market found a healthy clearing price well above the 2015 low. Very impressive!

Thats true! Contrast the liquidity of Bitcoin during the sell-off with Wall Street circuit breakers, blocking people from trying to sell. Whats free market about that? Or multiple reported outages on stock brokerage apps like Robinhood and even Fidelity. After the past month, Bitcoin is clearly the instrument you want to have your savings in during a financial crisis.

* Disclaimer: This article is the opinion of the author, and does not represent professional financial or investing advice.

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Originally posted here:
Opinion: Bitcoin Just Proved Itself to Be The Perfect Asset In A Financial Crisis - CryptoPotato