Bitcoin moved higher Tuesday, at one point breaching $94,000 for the first time, amid rising geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
The price of the flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 1% at $92,616.00, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $94,068.75. Shares of MicroStrategy, which trade as a bitcoin proxy, rose 11.9%.
The move follows overnight reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the U.S. that the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons had come down in response to President Joe Biden allowing Ukraine to use U.S. missiles to strike military targets inside Russia. Initially, bitcoin moved higher while stocks sold off. In afternoon trading, however, bitcoin advanced further as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite erased losses.
Bitcoin/USD Coin Metrics
RT Quote | USD
93,139.00
+198.75 (+0.21%)
Last | 3:35 AM EST
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Bitcoin rose slightly amid rising Ukraine-Russia tensions
Bitcoin is up 31% for the month. It has benefited from traders’ recent enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies following the election, as President-elect Donald Trump is expected to install more crypto-friendly regulators that could help the industry reach greater success. Like gold, bitcoin is also seen by many investors as a “non-confiscatable,” long-term hedge against geopolitical uncertainty.
“The most significant long-term correlations for bitcoin are a negative correlation with the U.S. dollar and a positive correlation with money supply growth,” Matt Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, said Oct. 28 on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“Bitcoin is a chameleon,” Sigel added. “Its correlations change over time; it’s hard to predict what it’s going to be correlated with over the short term.”
Best returns by asset class since 2012
Bitcoin (BTC)
U.S. Treasurys (UST)
U.S. Corporate (Corp)
S&P 500 (SPX)
Russell 2000 (R2K)
Commodities (Comm)
MSCI EAFE
MSCI EM
Gold
Top
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
Bottom
2023
BTC
157%
SPX
26.3%
MSCI EAFE
18.9%
R2K
16.9%
Gold
14.6%
MSCI EM
10.3%
Corp
8.5%
UST
4.1%
Comm
-4.3%
2022
Comms
26%
Gold
0.4%
UST
-12.5%
MSCI EAFE
-14%
Corp
-15.8%
SPX
-18.1%
MSCI EM
-19.7%
R2K
-20.4%
BTC
-64.3%
2021
BTC
59.8%
Comms
40.4%
SPX
28.7%
R2K
14.8%
MSCI EAFE
11.8%
Corp
-1%
MSCI EM
-2.2%
UST
-2.3%
Gold
-4.3%
2020
BTC
305.1%
Gold
24.6%
R2K
20%
MSCI EM
18.7%
SPX
18.4%
Corp
9.9%
MSCI EAFE
8.3%
UST
8%
Comm
-23.7%
2019
BTC
94.8%
SPX
31.5%
R2K
25.5%
MSCI EAFE
22.7%
MSCI EM
18.9%
Gold
18.4%
Comm
17.6%
Corp
14.5%
UST
6.9%
2018
UST
0.9%
Gold
-0.9%
Corp
-2.5%
SPX
-4.4%
R2K
-11%
MSCI EAFE
-13.4%
Comm
-13.8%
MSCI EM
-14.2%
BTC
-73.8%
2017
BTC
1375.1%
MSCI EM
37.8%
MSCI EAFE
25.6%
SPX
21.8%
R2K
14.6%
Gold
12.7%
Corp
6.4%
Comm
5.8%
UST
2.3%
2016
BTC
120.3%
R2K
21.3%
SPX
12%
MSCI EM
11.6%
Comm
11.4%
Gold
8.1%
Corp
6.1%
MSCI EAFE
1.5%
UST
1%
2015
BTC
36.2%
SPX
1.4%
UST
0.8%
MSCI EAFE
-0.4%
Corp
-0.7%
R2K
-4.4%
Gold
-12.1%
MSCI EM
-14.6%
Comm
-32.9%
2014
SP500
13.7%
Corp
7.5%
UST
5.1%
R2K
4.9%
Gold
0.1%
MSCI EM
-1.8%
MSCI EAFE
-4.5%
Comm
-33.1%
BTC
-57.5%
2013
BTC
5428.4%
R2K
38.8%
SPX
32.4%
MSCI EAFE
23.3%
Comm
-1.2%
Corp
-1.5%
MSCI EM
-2.3%
UST
-2.7%
Gold
-27.3%
2012
BTC
217.9%
MSCI EM
18.6%
MSCI EAFE
17.9%
R2K
16.4%
SPX
16%
Corp
9.8%
Gold
8.3%
UST
2%
Comm
0.1%
Graphic: Gabriel Cortes / CNBC
Source: WisdomTree
Bitcoin has behaved as a safe haven before. It outperformed during the crisis in the regional banking system in early 2023, for example. But because bitcoin is also a risky asset without a long history, with extreme volatility that can benefit short-term traders, some have a hard time arguing that bitcoin is necessarily attractive forever. Citigroup, for example, in a note Monday reiterated the bank’s view that bitcoin doesn’t exhibit store-of-value properties.
“Gold peaked by October-end, nearly a week prior to Election Day,” Citi’s Alex Saunders wrote. “And with risk-on (and idiosyncratic) sentiment supporting crypto, and FX/rates headwinds building for gold, the two are unlikely to be strongly correlated in the near-term.”
