Market Response to Iran-US Tensions Strengthens Bitcoin’s case as Digital Gold

Market Response to Iran-US Tensions Strengthens Bitcoin’s case as Digital Gold

With a technology in its infancy many market participants price in the future value of a technology based on its expected use cases and adoption. This process is called price discovery. Although many believe Bitcoin will be utilized as a payment system, the market disagrees.

64% of the available Bitcoin Supply has not moved since 2018, weakening the payment system thesis. How frequently is Physical Gold transferred – almost never. Individuals purchase gold as a store of value and keep it locked in vaults for several years as holders have conviction in gold as a store of value. 64% of Bitcoin being held, without being moved since 2018, conveys the magnitude of conviction Bitcoin Holders have in Bitcoin as Digital Gold.

We have witnessed multiple instances of geopolitical instability where the market has treated Bitcoin as Digital Gold. Similar to Physical Gold, Bitcoin also tends to be utilized as a tool for capital flight in times of geopolitical uncertainty. We witnessed this dynamic over the past week with Bitcoin rallying on news of escalating US-Iran tensions, and also in 2019 with China’s Yuan devaluations and trade disputes with the US.

1. Escalation in US-Iran Tensions Sparks Rally in Bitcoin:

2. Chinese Capital Flight: In May of 2019, the Chinese Yuan began to unwind due to capital control fears. The Chinese Government established more extreme withdraw limits to prevent money from exiting the country. Many individuals from Hong Kong and Mainland China began racing toward other stores of value. Many Crypto OTC Desks experienced massive Bitcoin Volume increases coming out of Hong Kong as the Chinese scrambled to exit the Yuan.