Based on an overview of the functions of a currency, cryptocurrencies should be considered as an investment instrument, rather than as an alternative to fiat money. Since the start of 2020, correlations between bitcoin and copper, equities and, in particular, breakeven inflation have increased. Probably, investors turn to bitcoin when inflation expectations are on the rise. Swings in investor sentiment also play a role. The extent of the change in the bitcoin price suggests that speculative waves are at work, driven by momentum buying and extrapolative expectations of price appreciation
The downward trend of our uncertainty indicators continues. This is related to the improvement of the sanitary situation in several countries, the vaccination campaigns and the anticipation of a major fiscal stimulus package in the US...
With deaths from Covid-19 having exceeded the startling level of 500,000 in the US, other cheerier statistics have driven the markets forward; The acceleration in the vaccination campaign, which has already administered 100 million doses, and the associated fall in the number of new cases, to close to their lowest level since the pandemic began, have, day by day, built hope that the crisis is nearing its end...
As the number of Covid-19 cases has been rising globally over the past two weeks, many countries have now joined the vaccination campaign that began in earnest in December 2020. According to the latest figures on Oxford University’s Our World in Data website, 319.56 million doses of vaccine have now been administered in 118 countries...
