Understanding Volatility in Crypto: A Comprehensive Guide
Regulators could do great harm by making rules that ossify this still-developing technology or cut off as-yet unrealized solutions that only a market process of discovery can deliver. “A rise in demand cannot result in the increase in supply of bitcoin or increase the speed at which bitcoin is issued,” wrote Ria Bhutoria, former director of research for Fidelity Digital Assets. “Massive retracements are always scary, but seasoned investors tend to see them as buying opportunities,” said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics. Connect with him about writing techniques, cryptocurrency, and music. Head to YouHodler.com today or download the mobile app to see how we help you activate your crypto. The information herein is not intended to serve as a basis for any investment decision or recommendation.
In traditional finance, volatility refers to the measure of the dispersion of an asset’s price over a period of time. It shows how much a security’s market price fluctuates around its average price. Generally, the higher the volatility, the riskier it is to invest in that asset. Professional money managers and corporate America have flooded the market in the last year, and they’re still getting started. As more institutional investors adopt bitcoin, it lends newfound legitimacy to the cryptocurrency, helping to erase its reputational risk.
Selling during this frenzy and leaving before the breakout loses momentum is a great method to turn a profit safely. Think of the price movements of your crypto as a 2D fish swimming through water. When the fish swims closer to the surface (or the breakout) fishermen grab onto it and pull it even higher. Sure, volatility is highly risky but with the right knowledge, you can use volatile trading to your advantage. While not a direct cause, employment rates can affect inflation volatility. This causes volatility in the financial market, as it reduces the purchasing power of a country overall.

Stock markets are volatile and can fluctuate significantly in response to company, industry, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. Investing in stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs involves risks, including the loss of principal. When you decide to invest in crypto, you’re signing up to ride the roller coaster. There could be high highs and low lows within short periods of time. And despite many people on the internet claiming they know when the next big surge or crash will be, the truth is no one can predict what’s going to happen. When media outlets announced Proshare’s introduction of its Bitcoin Strategy ETF (exchange-traded fund) in late October 2021, Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed over the next few weeks.
How to Find High-Volatility Crypto Using a Volatility Indicator
Bitcoin volatility is also partly driven by the varying belief in its utility as a store of value and method of value transfer. A store of value is an asset’s function that allows it to maintain value in the future with some degree of predictability. Many investors believe that Bitcoin will retain its value and continue growing, using it as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to traditional value stores like gold or other metals. There are several reasons why Bitcoin has such a volatile price history. Understanding the factors that influence its market price can help you decide whether to invest in it, trade it, or continue watching its developments.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, one-third of all Bitcoins were held by the top 10,000 investors at the end of 2020. Brokers and other financial institutions are working desperately to get approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for Bitcoin-backed securities, although it won’t be happening anytime soon. However, the number held by institutions and large investors will continue to rise as more securities are designed. In an infant market with no regulations, the only thing driving the values of cryptocurrencies is speculation. Normally, the value of any asset is dependent on its utility and adoption. At the moment, speculation is rife since it is extremely difficult – almost impossible – to quantify the values of any cryptocurrency based on traditional fundamental analysis.
Bitcoin, trading above $20,000 at the time of this writing, exceeded $50,000 for two brief periods in 2021—and fell almost as low as $30,000 in between. Other high-profile cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Dogecoin, have experienced similarly dramatic highs and lows. Historical volatility looks at how much the price of a crypto has varied in the past, typically over a period of 30, 60, or 90 days, and can help predict how much it might vary in the future. Historical volatility is a backward-looking measure that can be used to forecast how much a crypto is likely to fluctuate in the future.
Volatility and Risk
There are likely multiple causes for the unusually high volatility of cryptocurrencies. While more widespread adoption may be part of the solution, other likely causes are structural and follow directly from the way cryptocurrencies are designed. Large banks and other financial firms hold huge reserves of traditional currencies, and stocks have market makers, both serving to smooth out short-term volatility and make exchange markets more liquid. Bitcoin, on the other hand, eschews large central intermediaries by design. This interactive tool allows the reader to investigate the phenomenon of day-to-day volatility for different cryptocurrencies, traditional assets, and time periods. During the period 2018–2022, Bitcoin’s average daily change (measured as the absolute value of the percentage change from the previous day) was 2.87%, versus the Euro (0.34%), pound (0.43%), and yen (0.35%).

Investors jumped at the chance to gain exposure to a cryptocurrency on an official exchange, causing a price jump to more than $69,000. It’s not uncommon to hear an opinion from someone heavily invested in Bitcoin stating that the currency will soon be worth hundreds of thousands. Others hype newly invented cryptocurrencies to try and take away market share from Bitcoin. However, most of this media attention and publicity serves to influence Bitcoin’s price to benefit the people who hold large numbers of coins. The overall crypto market was also probably due for a correction after weeks of tweet-inspired record climbs, courtesy of Elon Musk. However, volatility tends to happen between 8 am and 4 pm local time so if you are a crypto trader, you can probably find the most opportunity there.
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Our popular features like Multi HODL and Dual Assets allow you to “play” with your crypto in both bull and bear markets. The more volatility there is, the more opportunities there are for you to earn interest as high as 365% and multiply your crypto. Speaking of finding opportunities, YouHodler provides you with the tools to capitalize on volatility. We have numerous features that help you long or short the market, multiplying your crypto up to x50 in the process. This fish is a cryptocurrency that traders are not aware of yet or for whatever reason, are resistant to buy. Once it hits the upside, traders may lose their resistance to buy and rapidly invest.
A risk-averse individual would avoid high-volatility investments since they are more concerned about stability and preserving their wealth. Those who participate in the cryptocurrency market are considered to be risk-takers. In fact, close to 60% of Bitcoin buyers are aged between year-olds. It is also interesting to point out that males significantly dominate the cryptocurrency market by over 70%.

Some coins or tokens have more dramatic swings in price than others, but overall crypto has proven to be more volatile than traditional investments like stocks or funds. Most exchanges have limits on the amount that can be liquidated in one day, in the range of around $50,000. Investors with thousands of Bitcoin may not be able to liquidate their assets fast enough to prevent https://www.xcritical.com/ enormous losses. If Bitcoin prices continue to hover around $50,000, a larger investor could only liquidate one coin per day. Other investors would begin to sell, and prices would plummet before anyone with more than $50,000 in coins could sell them all off, leading to large and rapid losses. Volatility means different things to different people in the markets.
“No central bank or government can step in to support or prop up markets and artificially subdue volatility,” continued Bhutoria. “Bitcoin’s volatility is a trade-off for a distortion-free market.” Keep your focus on cryptocurrencies that are trending in the market.
- The Lightning Network and Stablecoins both introduce the scope for large financial intermediaries and dependence on the fiat system that crypto pioneers sought precisely to avoid.
- Connect with him about writing techniques, cryptocurrency, and music.
- Speaking of finding opportunities, YouHodler provides you with the tools to capitalize on volatility.
- We have numerous features that help you long or short the market, multiplying your crypto up to x50 in the process.
As a result, taxes factor into Bitcoin’s market price—but it doesn’t necessarily contribute to its volatility unless the tax regulations change often and cause investor concerns. Government agency views of cryptocurrency can also affect Bitcoin’s price. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers Bitcoin a convertible virtual currency because you can convert it to cash. The IRS also considers Bitcoin a capital asset if it’s used as an investment instrument. Additionally, if you mine a Bitcoin, you are required to report it as income based on the coin’s market value on the date you receive it. After the hype died down and investors realized the ETF was linked to Bitcoin through futures contracts traded on the commodities market, prices dropped back down around $50,000.
A change in management
This will induce panic and will lead to even more chaos and volatility, given that the cryptocurrency market is easily moved by news and sentiments. “All investments carry risk, and just like stocks, crypto is subject to price swings,” said Noah Perlman, Gemini’s chief operating officer. “Bitcoin is still a young asset class, but it’s one of the best performing of the last decade.” But volatility is also crypto volatility tracker the price that bitcoin investors pay for its limited supply and its lack of a central bank to control that supply — precisely the features proponents say give it value. Afterward, they will use the new information to enter into new crypto investments or exchanges or change their current strategy. The quarterly earnings are a solid basis for planning out improved financial choices based on past trends.
The answer to this question lies in the fact that cryptocurrencies are not backed by any intrinsic value, unlike traditional assets such as gold or diamonds. In this article, we will delve into the concept of volatility in crypto, exploring its causes and effects on the market, as well as strategies to mitigate the risks. You can buy Bitcoin on government-approved cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase. It is no surprise that many jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon. However, the market soon became too unstable once it grew to massive levels, and thereafter experienced a massive collapse for the whole of 2018. The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell from an all-time high of $813 billion to a mere $100 billion, with the general prices of all coins falling close to 90%.