- Bitcoin (BTC) has gained over 50% since last year’s price slump
- Nearly 90% of the 70 financial instruments tracked by Deutsche Bank AG have made nice gains this year
While 2018 was a year of the bears for bitcoin, altcoins and most traditional financial instruments, 2019 has started showing a great promise, as nearly 90 percent of the 70 financial asset classes tracked by Deutsche Bank AG has so far posted positive total returns, with the world’s flagship distributed ledger technology (DLT) based money rallying more than 50% after last year’s bloodbath, according to a Wall Street Journal report on May 5, 2019.
Bitcoin Heading for the Moon
Per sources close to the matter, it appears the winter of 2018 is gradually coming to an end, as blockchain-based digital assets, as well as traditional financial instruments like bonds, stocks, credit markets, and commodities, have risen significantly in 2019.
According to Jim Reid and Craig Nicol, strategists at Deutsche Bank AG, a German multinational investment bank and financial services company, almost 90 percent of the 70 financial assets tracked by the bank have posted huge returns in 2019, representing a remarkable turnaround from last year when the value of about 87% of assets crashed badly.
Specifically, the report notes that the price of bitcoin has rallied more than 50 percent, aiming to hit the $6,000 mark once again after last year’s collapse.
At the time of filing this report, the entire cryptocurrency markets have a combined market capitalization of over $180 billion, with Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin controlling an impressive $100.80 billion in market cap.
Future Looking Bleak for Traditional Financial Assets
Commenting on the latest development, Peter Atwater, a research analyst and an adjunct lecturer at the College of William & Mary, opined that the recent market recovery has been “like a bungee jump on a slingshot,” adding that he’s quite troubled by the correlation between asset classes and the drop-off in price volatility.
However, it appears the recent gains of traditional financial instruments may soon be wiped away by president Trump’s tariff increase on Chinese imports, as well as Beijing’s impending cancellation of the trade talks with the U.S.
Reportedly, U.S stock futures and Chinese stocks traded lower Sunday, a strong indication that things may soon fall apart if care is not taken.
“The markets are more closely tied together than they’ve ever been before. In a globalized world with a free flow of goods, services, people, ideas and capital, you’d think there should be a greater degree of correlation with all of this stuff,” declared Michael Parker, director of research and head of strategy for Asia-Pacific at Bernstein Research in Hong Kong.
