Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Athanasios Psarofagis said that Bitcoin (BTC) did not provide investors with the expected protection during market declines, while gold showed a more stable performance.
Speaking to Scarlet Fu, Katie Greifeld and Eric Balchunas on the “ETF IQ” program, Psarofagis stated that gold holds up better on days when the S&P 500 falls, while Bitcoin remains weak these days.
“When the market is bullish, Bitcoin offers much higher potential returns than gold,” Psarofagis said. However, on bearish days, gold is clearly ahead. Recalling that Bitcoin is often referred to as a “hedge against inflation” or a “market hedge,” the analyst explained that in reality, it’s more of a “hedge against the global money supply.”
Psarofagis, noting that gold isn’t a perfect hedge either, said, “Both are volatile assets, but Bitcoin is more fragile. The real problem is that it’s not clear exactly what Bitcoin is: a currency, a store of value, or a speculative asset.”
Psarofagis stated that Bitcoin’s supply being limited to 21 million and the fact that it cannot be replicated by governments is attractive to investors, adding that Bitcoin did not provide the expected support during market declines when “technology stocks fell” but performed strongly during periods of rise.
*This is not investment advice.