As investors flock to equities, bitcoin has been dethroned as the defacto risk asset of choice, and has instead taken on the role of a more stable asset, almost like “digital gold,” says Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence.
“Bitcoin has matured now. [Bitcoin] futures are getting active, we’re going to have ETFs. The first ten years, we’ve had a run-up, and now it’s in a range that’s going to migrate higher. Volatility is one thing that’s almost going to be certain to get crushed,” McGlone told Kitco News.
2020 is when the next bitcoin “halving” will occur, a process that happens roughly every four years, which may lead to disappointing price performances, according to some crypto analysts.
McGlone, however, has a different view on what halving will do to bitcoin prices.
“One of the unique things about bitcoin is limited supply,” McGlone said. “Bitcoin, as well know, has limited supply, and as a commodity guy when I see something with a supply that’s guaranteed to be limited, yet demand is picking up with more adoption, I view that as very attractive for price.”
On gold, prices are still in a bull market despite sideways price action of late, McGlone said.
“We’re back to more normalization. It’s a bull market, it’s been brewing for years,” he said.
McGlone noted that higher equities levels have been the main factor in keeping gold prices at bay, but stocks will not stay elevated forever.
“What’s really repressed gold prices in the last few months is record highs in the stock markets. How long is that going to last? Well, we all know that’s unsustainable,” he said.