Cryptocurrencies, known for their wild gyrations, are actually pretty stable these days, as Bitcoin hovers at its $20,000resistance level, making it less volatile than stocks. That’s not necessarily good news.
BitMEX’s .BVOL Index, which measures the 30-day historical volatility of Bitcoin against the U.S. dollar, has tumbled to 19.65% as of Oct. 18, down from more than 85% in June. Volatility is a measure of how much the price of an asset has moved up or down over time, and its decline shows a measure of stability for the cryptocurrency. At the same time, though, Bitcoin's trading volume has slumped to $14 billion in the past month from $50 billion. Low volume suggests a lack of interest in buying or selling, resulting in lessliquidity in the market.
A low volatility level might be good for bitcoin, but a low volume with a low volatility level isn't because it indicates that people will withdraw their money from the market and the price could fall further.
The mix comes amid signs that crypto is making more inroads into everyday investing. Just this week, Mastercard entered the industry, following similar moves by Visa and Betterment. It’s also occurring against a backdrop of turbulence for mainstream investors as recession headwinds build thanks to accelerating inflation and interest rate hikes.
While Bitcoin is experiencing record levels of stability, Wall Street is seeing turbulence as inflation, rate hikes, and other macroeconomic factors affect the corporate world. Stocks and indices have been tumbling, though the start of the week saw some recoveries made.
The CBOE Volatility Index, popularly known asthe VIX , has almost doubled since the start of the year and now stands at 30.89. The Vix, which tracker
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