The surging dollar is wrecking stock portfolios, clobbering commodity prices and sinking rival currencies. The British pound has been among the most volatile currencies against the dollar, tumbling 5.6% over the past seven days, and briefly hitting a record low Monday of $1.0327.
But one asset has been relatively calm over the past week: Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has risen 6.5% over the past seven days, a surprisingly strong run that has caught the eye of crypto bulls and bears.
“You know we’ve reached a unique time in history when #Bitcoin suddenly is less volatile than fiat currencies,” tweeted Sven Henrich, the founder of NorthmanTrader, a markets research firm.
Henrich was one of the most prominent bears during the recent bull market, warning about overpriced assets like crypto.
When central banks raised interest rates, Bitcoin largely traded like risky assets, such as tech stocks. But that hasn’t necessarily been the case over the past month. Bitcoin has traded in the green (but only slightly) so far in September, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down nearly 10% over that period.
But zoom out further, and the picture looks more frightening for crypto bulls. Bitcoin has lost more than half its value in 2022, far underperforming stocks, bonds and most currencies.