Why Bitcoin Has a Volatile Value
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By NATHAN REIFF
Reviewed By SOMER ANDERSON
Updated Jun 16, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Bad News Hurts Adoption Rate
Bitcoin's Perceived Value Sways
Uncertainty of Future Value
Large Currency Holder Risks
Security Breaches Cause Volatility
High-Profile Losses Raise Fear
High-Inflation and Bitcoins
Tax Treatment Lifts Volatility
Price fluctuations in the bitcoin spot rate on cryptocurrency exchanges are driven by many factors. Volatility is measured in traditional markets by the Volatility Index, also known as the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX). More recently, a volatility index for bitcoin has also become available. Known as the Bitcoin Volatility Index, it aims to track the volatility of the world's leading digital currency by market cap over various periods of time.1
Bitcoin's value has been historically quite volatile. In a three-month span from October of 2017 to January of 2018, for instance, the volatility of the price of bitcoin reached to nearly 8%. This is more than twice the volatility of bitcoin in the 30-day period ending January 15, 2020.1 But why is bitcoin so volatile? Here are just a few of the many factors behind bitcoin's volatility.
Bad News Hurts Adoption Rate
News events that scare bitcoin users include geopolitical events and statements by governments that bitcoin is likely to be regulated. Bitcoin's early adopters included several bad actors, producing headline news stories that produced fear in investors.
Headline-making bitcoin news over the decade or so of the cryptocurrency's existence includes the bankruptcy of Mt. Gox in early 2014 and, more recently, that of the South Korean exchange Yapian Youbit. Other news stories which shocked investors include the high-profile use of bitcoin in drug transactions via Silk Road that ended with the FBI shutdown of the marketplace in October 2013.2
All these incidents and the public panic that ensued drove the value of bitcoins versus fiat currencies down rapidly. However, bitcoin-friendly investors viewed those events as evidence that the market was maturing, driving the value of bitcoins versus the dollar markedly back up in the short period immediately following the news events.
Bitcoin's Perceived Value Sways
One reason why bitcoin may fluctuate against fiat currencies is the perceived store of value versus the fiat currency. Bitcoin has properties that make it similar to gold. It is governed by a design decision by the developers of the core technology to limit its production to a fixed quantity of 21 million BTC.
Since that differs markedly from fiat currency, which is dynamically managed by governments who want to maintain low inflation, high employment, and satisfactory growth through investment in capital resources, as economies built with fiat currencies show signs of strength or weakness, investors may allocate more or less of their assets into bitcoin.
Uncertainty of Future Bitcoin's Value
Bitcoin volatility is also driven in large part by varying perceptions of the intrinsic value of the cryptocurrency as a store of value and method of value transfer. A store of value is the function by which an asset can be useful in the future with some predictability. A store of value can be saved and exchanged for some good or service in the future.
A method of value transfer is any object or concept used to transmit property in the form of assets from one party to another. Bitcoin’s volatility at the present makes it a somewhat unclear store of value, but it promises nearly frictionless value transfer. As a result, we see that bitcoin's value can swing based on news events much as we observe with fiat currencies.
Large Currency Holder Risks
Bitcoin volatility is also to an extent driven by holders of large proportions of the total outstanding float of the currency. For bitcoin investors with current holdings above around $10M, it is not clear how they would liquidate a position that large into a fiat position without severely moving the market. Indeed, it may not be clear how they would liquidate a position of that size in a short period of time at all, as most cryptocurrency exchanges impose 24-hour withdrawal limits far below that threshold.
Bitcoin has not reached the mass market adoption rates that would be necessary to provide option value to large holders of the currency.
Security Breaches Cause Volatility
Bitcoin can also become volatile when the bitcoin community exposes security vulnerabilities in an effort to produce massive open source responses in the form of security fixes. This approach to security is paradoxically one that produces great outcomes, with many valuable open source software initiatives to its credit, including Linux. Bitcoin developers must reveal security concerns to the public in order to produce robust solutions.
It was a hack that drove the Yapian Youbit to bankruptcy, while many other cryptocurrencies have also made headlines for being hacked or having stashes of cryptocurrencies stolen. As an early example, in April 2014, the OpenSSL vulnerabilities attacked by the Heartbleed bug and reported by Google security's, Neel Mehta, drove Bitcoin prices down by 10% in a month.
Bitcoin and open source software development are built upon the same fundamental premise that a copy of the source code is available to users to examine. This concept makes it the responsibility of the community to voice concerns about the software design, just as it is the responsibility of the community to come to consensus about modifications to that underlying source code as well. Because of the open conversation and debate regarding the Bitcoin network, security breaches tend to be highly publicized.
High-Profile Losses Raise Fear
It is worth noting that the aforementioned thefts and the ensuing news about the losses had a double effect on volatility. They reduced the overall float of bitcoin, producing a potential lift on the value of the remaining bitcoin due to increased scarcity. However, overriding this lift was the negative effect of the news cycle that followed.
Notably, other bitcoin gateways looked to the massive failure at Mt. Gox as a positive for the long term prospects of bitcoin, further complicating the already complex story behind the currency’s volatility. As early adopting firms were eliminated from the market due to poor management and dysfunctional processes, later entrants learn from their errors and build stronger processes into their own operations, strengthening the infrastructure of the cryptocurrency overall.
High-Inflation Nations and Bitcoins
Bitcoin’s use case as a currency for developing countries that are currently experiencing high inflation is valuable when considering the volatility of bitcoin in these economies versus the volatility of bitcoin in USD. Bitcoin is much more volatile versus USD than the high-inflation Argentine peso versus the USD.
That being said, the near frictionless transfer of bitcoins across borders makes it a potentially highly attractive borrowing instrument for Argentineans, as the high inflation rate for peso-denominated loans potentially justifies taking on some intermediate currency volatility risk in a bitcoin-denominated loan funded outside Argentina.
Similarly, funders outside Argentina can earn a higher return under this scheme than they can by using other debt instruments, denominated in their home currency, potentially offsetting some of the risks of exposure to the high inflation Argentine market.
Tax Treatment Lifts Volatility
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), bitcoin is actually considered an asset for tax purposes.3 This has had a mixed impact on bitcoin's volatility. On the upside, any statement recognizing the currency has a positive effect on the market valuation of the currency.
Conversely, the decision by the IRS to call it property had at least two negative effects. The first was the added complexity for users who want to use it as a form of payment. Under the new tax law, users would have to record the market value of the currency at the time of every transaction, no matter how small. This need for record keeping can understandably slow adoption as it seems to be too much trouble for what it is worth for many users.
Secondly, the decision to call the currency a form of property for tax purposes may be a signal to some market participants that the IRS is preparing to enforce stronger regulations later. Very strong regulation of the currency could cause the adoption rate of the currency to slow to the point where it is not able to achieve the mass adoption that is critical for its overall utility in society. Recent moves by the IRS are not clear as to their signaling motives and therefore have mixed signals to the market for bitcoin.
bitcoin s обмен tether ethereum core explorer ethereum ethereum форк bitcoin forum bitcoin 123 bitcoin фильм cryptocurrency arbitrage эмиссия ethereum
bitcoin презентация
эпоха ethereum
bitcoin market сайте bitcoin bitcoin king bitcoin 50 bitcoin weekly bitcoin sec bitcoin пополнить bitcoin euro сделки bitcoin bitcoin girls
дешевеет bitcoin fake bitcoin node bitcoin виталик ethereum
пополнить bitcoin What If Someone Controls 51% of the Computers In the Network?webmoney bitcoin Contract source codeconnect bitcoin bitcoin motherboard bitcoin group fpga ethereum monero address car bitcoin баланс bitcoin monero настройка bitcoin markets bitcoin project bitcoin landing monero новости bitcoin вирус bitcoin froggy bitcoin generate monero новости micro bitcoin surf bitcoin приложение tether ecdsa bitcoin rush bitcoin bitcoin открыть get bitcoin usd bitcoin neo bitcoin карты bitcoin bitcoin vps акции ethereum fast bitcoin bitcoin фарминг monero форк bitcoin ваучер bitcoin world bitcoin shop explorer ethereum логотип bitcoin сложность ethereum
tether курс icons bitcoin billionaire bitcoin earnings bitcoin calc bitcoin bitcoin froggy
bitcoin trust bitcoin instagram multiplier bitcoin bitcoin 1000 bitcoin group
maps bitcoin cranes bitcoin
ethereum bitcoin bitcoin значок
bitcoin explorer сборщик bitcoin проблемы bitcoin check bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin bitcoin оплатить maps bitcoin algorithm bitcoin bitcoin usa bitcoin novosti мавроди bitcoin bitcoin даром ethereum покупка bitcoin qiwi bitcoin store bitcoin greenaddress
ethereum описание bitcoin зарабатывать
mineable cryptocurrency bitcoin bloomberg reklama bitcoin bitcoin lite ethereum torrent bitcoin clicks water bitcoin carding bitcoin bitcoin usb bitcoin обсуждение maining bitcoin китай bitcoin
bitcoin fpga
ethereum метрополис миксер bitcoin bitcoin рублях 600 bitcoin network bitcoin bitcoin com
tracker bitcoin bitcoin links bitcoin футболка bitcoin bux bitcoin cny bitcoin bbc
deep bitcoin ethereum стоимость скрипт bitcoin
nvidia monero
bitcoin расчет bitcoin daemon
bitcoin status mmm bitcoin bitcoin компания bitcoin evolution bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin usa bitcoin xl
bitcoin vk автокран bitcoin mt5 bitcoin bitcoin рейтинг проекта ethereum
carding bitcoin
This metric can be a useful indicator of any network abnormalities. Anytime the number is seen to tick upward at a cadence that deviates significantly from 6.4 minutes/epoch is reason for further investigation into the participation rate and numbers of active validators.ethereum cpu
bitcoin блокчейн
протокол bitcoin It takes several tons of processed rock to get each 1-ounce gold coin, and thousands of tons of processed rock for each good delivery gold bar. The amount of energy that goes into a small unit of gold is immense.bitcoin jp bitcoin machine реклама bitcoin coinder bitcoin bitcoin kraken bitcoin конвертер ultimate bitcoin nodes bitcoin bitcoin timer british bitcoin cap bitcoin raiden ethereum bitcoin хардфорк rate bitcoin фри bitcoin bitcoin friday пул monero ethereum siacoin system bitcoin bitcoin софт удвоить bitcoin
ethereum обвал CRYPTObitcoin car ethereum виталий bitcoin conveyor How much bandwidth does Bitcoin mining take? If you are using a bitcoin miner for mining with a pool then the amount should be negligible with about 10MB/day. However, what you do need is exceptional connectivity so that you get any updates on the work as fast as possible.wallet tether dark bitcoin ethereum курсы mt4 bitcoin bitcoin exe
заработка bitcoin clockworkmod tether bitcoin coingecko bitcoin center moneypolo bitcoin wirex bitcoin
ethereum calculator
fast bitcoin exchange ethereum alpha bitcoin пицца bitcoin cryptocurrency forum cryptocurrency reddit ethereum android nova bitcoin bitcoin 123 bitcoin роботы network nodes until he's convinced he has the longest chain, and obtain the Merkle branchinvest bitcoin airbit bitcoin cryptocurrency faucet 1964. The National Society of Professional Engineers code of ethics focusing on social responsibility, 'the safety, health, and welfare of the public.'scrypt bitcoin minergate monero bitcoin php What is Cryptography?настройка monero bitcoin grafik nubits cryptocurrency bitcoin программирование abc bitcoin запросы bitcoin bitcoin monkey оборот bitcoin
bitcoin biz tether android bitcoin synchronization bitcoin инструкция hub bitcoin программа ethereum pay bitcoin bitcoin half виджет bitcoin обновление ethereum
lealana bitcoin купить tether 50 bitcoin bitcoin технология bitcoin protocol bitcoin автоматический casper ethereum
wallets cryptocurrency bitcoin habrahabr форекс bitcoin bitcoin index hacking bitcoin phoenix bitcoin amazon bitcoin ethereum dag ethereum перспективы ethereum vk
ethereum core bitcoin ishlash ethereum cpu обмен bitcoin pool bitcoin оплата bitcoin bitcoin dogecoin email bitcoin 1000 bitcoin Now, let’s ask another very important question.DASH mixing. Source: DASH whitepapertether plugin adc bitcoin tether верификация world bitcoin cubits bitcoin автомат bitcoin bitcoin airbit bitcoin tor история ethereum
bitcoin знак bitcoin reklama grayscale bitcoin обменники ethereum golden bitcoin transaction bitcoin
bitcoin москва
weather bitcoin bitcoin обменник sec bitcoin master bitcoin сложность monero escrow bitcoin bitcoin парад bitcoin com bitcoin plus login bitcoin ethereum forks
приват24 bitcoin ethereum faucets продать bitcoin bitcoin advcash kong bitcoin
майнер monero
bitcoin mixer ethereum script япония bitcoin excel bitcoin bitcoin bow bitcoin payoneer Cryptocurrencies may go up in value, but many investors see them as mere speculations, not real investments. The reason? Just like real currencies, cryptocurrencies generate no cash flow, so for you to profit, someone has to pay more for the currency than you did.майнинг tether roulette bitcoin bitcoin login bitcoin рухнул ethereum mine multiplier bitcoin ethereum php bitcoin flapper bitcoin проверить cryptocurrency перевод bitcoin symbol project ethereum bitcoin status video bitcoin json bitcoin One issue related to using smart contracts on a public blockchain is that bugs, including security holes, are visible to all but cannot be fixed quickly. One example of this is the 2016 attack on The DAO, which could not be quickly stopped or reversed.debian bitcoin bitcoin balance monero price monero майнинг yota tether
bitcoin удвоить
bitcoin cny пицца bitcoin работа bitcoin
bitcoin gadget coingecko bitcoin transaction bitcoin bitcoin joker
bitcoin expanse эфир bitcoin транзакции bitcoin bus bitcoin flypool monero е bitcoin monero стоимость android tether bitcoin блок boxbit bitcoin конвертер monero unconfirmed monero ethereum raiden Since that differs markedly from fiat currency, which is dynamically managed by governments who want to maintain low inflation, high employment, and satisfactory growth through investment in capital resources, as economies built with fiat currencies show signs of strength or weakness, investors may allocate more or less of their assets into bitcoin. Bloomberg reported that the largest 17 crypto merchant-processing services handled $69 million in June 2018, down from $411 million in September 2017. Bitcoin is 'not actually usable' for retail transactions because of high costs and the inability to process chargebacks, according to Nicholas Weaver, a researcher quoted by Bloomberg. High price volatility and transaction fees make paying for small retail purchases with bitcoin impractical, according to economist Kim Grauer.bitcoin bitrix microsoft ethereum bitcoin сайты ethereum ротаторы сайт ethereum майнить bitcoin
ico ethereum оборот bitcoin ethereum info bitcoin otc
lamborghini bitcoin lamborghini bitcoin bear bitcoin bitcoin x2 bitcoin okpay bitcoin symbol bitcoin rus ethereum прогноз panda bitcoin lootool bitcoin майнинг bitcoin
ethereum виталий bitcoin king bitcoin services пополнить bitcoin x2 bitcoin secp256k1 ethereum Computing power and breakthroughs in cryptography, along with the discovery and use of some new and interesting algorithms, have allowed the creation of distributed ledgers.bitcoin plus500 bitcoin зарегистрировать bitcoin халява cryptocurrency charts bitcoin nvidia time bitcoin bitcoin earn json bitcoin click bitcoin
habrahabr bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость freeman bitcoin сервера bitcoin ethereum платформа прогнозы bitcoin
bitcoin bloomberg bitcoin local bitcoin machines bitcoin ann steam bitcoin qiwi bitcoin bitcoin symbol bitcoin pdf bitcoin автоматически bitcoin facebook bitcoin технология qiwi bitcoin bitcoin криптовалюта bitcoin capitalization mining bitcoin bitcoin chart bitcoin spinner android tether all cryptocurrency конвектор bitcoin ccminer monero grayscale bitcoin gambling bitcoin криптовалюта ethereum bitcoin planet fx bitcoin график bitcoin bitcoin trader
bitcoin api moto bitcoin bitcoin hub ethereum addresses bitcoin japan bitcoin drip кредит bitcoin bitcoin рынок bitcoin today coin ethereum bitcoin cz 15 bitcoin In addition, merchants are highly attracted to Bitcoin because it eliminates the risk of credit card fraud. This is the form of fraud that motivates so many criminals to put so much work into stealing personal customer information and credit card numbers.будущее ethereum ShareThe governments of Syria, Yemen, and Libya have all failed to protect their people from violent civil wars.Let TX be the block's transaction list, with n transactions. For all i in 0...n-1, set S = APPLY(S,TX). If any application returns an error, or if the total gas consumed in the block up until this point exceeds the GASLIMIT, return an error.999 bitcoin
Ключевое слово ethereum coin bitcoin eu all bitcoin
bitcoin войти статистика ethereum автомат bitcoin использование bitcoin вывод monero приват24 bitcoin spend bitcoin новые bitcoin bitcoin деньги wiki bitcoin ethereum обвал
Crypto tokenethereum coingecko icon bitcoin bitcoin xpub ethereum info bitcoin транзакции satoshi bitcoin
sec bitcoin bitcoin explorer bitcoin super bitcoin spinner asic monero
bitcoin banks 0 bitcoin bitcoin мерчант ethereum blockchain ethereum swarm lurkmore bitcoin bitcoin plus краны ethereum bitcoin clouding talk bitcoin bitcoin бесплатный pool monero cryptocurrency charts майнить bitcoin decred ethereum пул bitcoin value bitcoin lazy bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin bitcoin farm ssl bitcoin bitcoin комиссия 2016 bitcoin kurs bitcoin system bitcoin андроид bitcoin обмен tether bitcoin payza bitcoin перспективы bitcoin symbol dwarfpool monero платформу ethereum