On Oct. 6, the price of Bitcoin (BTC +2.33%) reached an all-time high of $126,198. From there, it was a long march downward, with prices falling below $63,000 earlier this month.
Then, everything changed. Bitcoin ETF inflows have been consistently positive in recent days, sending the crypto asset 25% higher since Aug. 19. On Aug. 27, the price of Bitcoin finally resurfaced above $80,000.
Crypto investors everywhere are now asking themselves one question: is the bear market over? Potentially. But there’s an even better question Bitcoin bulls should be asking themselves right now.
Today’s Change
(2.33%) $1,827.45
Current Price
$80,233.00
Key Data Points
Market Cap
Day’s Range
$78233.00 – $80793.00
52wk Range
$57945.16 – $126079.89
Volume
34.1B
This is what Bitcoin investors should never forget
Crypto markets are historically extremely volatile. Bitcoin is no exception.
What makes Bitcoin’s price fluctuate so wildly? There are a few factors.
The first is limited supply. Long term, there is a hard cap of 21 million coins that can be in circulation. Minting rates, meanwhile, slow over time, eventually reaching zero. Limited supply contrasted with big swings in demand often result in sudden and severe price volatility.
The second factor is the influence of so-called Bitcoin whales. An estimated one-third of all bitcoin supply is controlled by just 10,000 investors. The actions of these investors, therefore, has an undue impact on Bitcoin’s price.
Finally, there is always steep competition for the attention of risk-tolerant investors. In recent years, crypto markets have ceded a lot of attention to high-flying AI stocks. Even within crypto markets, there are continually new and innovative assets attempting to unseat Bitcoin’s dominance.
Image source: Getty Images
But here’s the thing: Bitcoin remains the king of crypto. And it’s not even close. Bitcoin is currently five times bigger than the next-largest crypto token. In fact, Bitcoin’s valuation is larger than the rest of the crypto industry put together.
I’m skeptical as to whether Bitcoin’s dominance will ever change. That’s due to an investment thesis that many crypto investors have long forgotten about: Bitcoin is the digital gold.
Roughly 10% of gold’s value is related to technology use cases. Another 40% is tied up in jewelry. That leaves half of gold’s value to speculation alone. Humans have valued gold for thousands of years. That has made gold a reliable store of value. Gold is valuable simply for being itself.
Bitcoin has the same advantages, even if its history is far shorter than gold’s. Bitcoin was the first crypto asset. Its historic significance can never be deleted from the record books. And while it doesn’t have as many features as other crypto assets, Bitcoin’s status as a store-of-value asset has been made clear through retail, corporate, and institutional adoption.
Gold’s market cap currently hovers above $32 trillion. Bitcoin’s valuation, meanwhile, remains under $2 trillion. Can Bitcoin close the gap? This is the question Bitcoin investors should be asking themselves, not where Bitcoin’s price will move in the coming weeks or months.
If gold really is a long-term benchmark for Bitcoin’s future growth, the price of Bitcoin currently has more than 1,500% upside potential. And that’s not even factoring in any future price increase for gold itself.
Market trends come and go. But Bitcoin’s valuation gap with gold remains a steady and reliable long-term benchmark.