What Could Send Bitcoin Into the Stratosphere?

I spoke at a conference this week and one of the first questions from the audience was about Bitcoin and my thoughts on cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

My go-to phrase to sound intelligent (even though I have no idea) on this one is “Bitcoin may not be the ultimate winner in all of this but the blockchain technology is going to be revolutionary.”

To be honest I really don’t know what the outcome of all this cryptocurrency stuff will be. I still don’t totally understand the intricacies of it but judging by everything I’ve read and heard no one really understands it all.

I am fascinated by it all though. It provides yet another great study in behavioral psychology.

I’ve seen a few people try to provide a formula or ratio to try to value Bitcoin and the like, which is utterly ridiculous. This is the basic formula for cryptocurrencies:

a new and exciting technology + a group of true believers + a sexy narrative + an insane price rise = crypto market value

There’s no way to gauge this kind of thing through traditional metrics as there are no fundamentals. But that won’t stop people from trying. This thing could already be a huge bubble that could pop at any moment for any number of reasons. Bitcoin has already had three separate instances where it fell 85% or more in the past.

While market crashes make for an interesting case study I’m more interested in what could take this bubble to the next level. I love trying to understand the psychology behind massive market bubbles. I’m not saying it will happen but human nature being what it is, you can never rule it out.

One of the arguments for a sustained rise is the idea of scarcity since the supply of Bitcoins is capped at a certain number of units. Supposedly the total amount of gold ever mined could be melted down and it would only fit into an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Yet the price for an ounce of gold is basically constant for the last 2,000 years.

The example I once read is an ounce of gold bought a nice men’s suit in the time of Jesus and does the same today. There are plenty of scarce resources that don’t go up in value simply because of their scarcity.

Another argument is if Bitcoin can just become a certain percentage of all investable assets it will be worth much more than it is today. If everyone just owns 3% of this is will be worth trillions!

This is a lazy argument. It’s like your college roommate’s dumb business ideas when they would tell you they’re going to start their own whiskey brand or t-shirt company or something. If I can only gain a 1% market share I’ll be rich!

Like no one’s ever thought of that before.

I like to look at these things through the lens of an asset allocator. In terms of asset allocation decisions, I see two scenarios that could potentially send Bitcoin into the stratosphere and make this a ginormous bubble.

The obvious answer here is if the owners of Bitcoin move beyond tech people and millennials. If big-time institutional money makes an entrance things could get interesting. Because of the way institutional capital is deployed this is not a foregone conclusion. The allocators of capital at the endowments, foundations, pensions, and family offices make portfolio decisions in a verrrrrry slow and methodical way.

Portfolio changes in these funds are like turning around a battleship because of the politics and career risk involved. It will probably take decades for pensions to get involved but I wouldn’t be surprised if some nonprofits in the endowment world decided to dip their toe in the water.

The question is: What could cause these institutions to get involved?

The obvious one is that Bitcoin continues to rise and institutions get a bad case of FOMO. But my guess is it’s much easier to look past the huge rise in price on Bitcoin when everything else is rising, even if the gains aren’t nearly as large.

My hypothesis is we could see an influx of capital into this space if it turns out to be a diversifying asset during the next stock market downturn. If stocks get hit hard and Bitcoin continues to rise, or just doesn’t fall, I could see this scenario getting the attention of some endowment funds. While these funds were once some of the most innovative in the entire investment industry, many of them have resorted to fighting the last war over the past decade.

If there was evidence that Bitcoin acted as a diversifying asset during a substantial stock market meltdown I’m guessing that could be enough to perk up the ears of some institutional investors. And once a few pull the trigger the herd mentality would kick in because there’s so much peer pressure among these funds.

I would also assume that the endowment community would be much more comfortable paying 2&20 to a crypto hedge fund (an oxymoron if there ever was one considering you can’t hedge anything in this space) instead of simply buying Bitcoin on its own because that’s how they roll.

Will this happen? Who knows. No one really knows anything at this point because all of this stuff is still in its infancy. My only prediction on Bitcoin is that it will continue to be wildly volatile which is what makes it so interesting from a psychological perspective.

Volatility invites human emotions into the equation and crazy things can happen when people make emotional decisions.

Further Reading:
Bitcoin, Stocks and the Fear of Missing Out

Now here’s what I’ve been reading lately:

 

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

The Compound Media, Inc., an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.