stagflation<\/a> is haunting. Not since the 1980s has the threat of inflation accompanied by economic stagnation been as real as it is these days. How Bitcoin and Co. might behave in such a phase and why one particular circumstance holds hope for the crypto sector.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe continuing supply chain problems and the war in Ukraine have triggered panic on the commodity markets. Prices for fossil fuels, industrial metals, and agricultural raw materials are reaching unimagined highs. The consequence: Everything is getting more expensive. Bread, the staple food of many regions, is becoming more expensive not only because of the rise in energy prices but also because the price of wheat is simply skyrocketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, employees and unions are putting pressure on salaries – for understandable reasons. The momentum of the dreaded wage-price spiral could take full effect in the next few weeks\/months. For example, the average inflation of 5.8 percent in the eurozone could soon catch up with the EU leaders Lithuania, Latvia, and the Czech Republic. There, purchase price inflation is already over 10 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should growth now also fail to materialize, the specter of stagflation would threaten our prosperity. Rising inflation would then no longer be sufficiently compensated by growth. The majority of investors would lose money and simply become poorer. Most public companies lose value in times of stagflation. But what about cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, in a stagflation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stagflation: Zero empirical values for Bitcoin<\/strong>
Nobody is able to predict the inflation rate. Neither the European Central Bank, nor investment banks, nor financial analysts on YouTube. Very well, however, the probability for certain scenarios is increasing. One such scenario is the now much-discussed stagflation. The difficulty: since the cryptocurrency asset class has existed, there has been no stagflation in the major industrialized nations. So there is a lack of empirical data for the asset class, which is difficult to value anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAccordingly, it can make sense to orient oneself on the reaction of technology or risk assets. After all, these have shown the highest correlation to cryptocurrencies so far. Like the growth stocks in an ARK Innovation ETF, most cryptocurrencies have fallen 50 percent or more in some cases since their correction began last November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big problem of inflation<\/strong>
Viewed in isolation, higher inflation is not bad for either tech stocks or Bitcoin per se. However, as inflation increases, so does the likelihood of central banks raising interest rates. The result is a less expansionary monetary policy and that, in turn, is very much bad for bitcoin and tech stocks and good for US dollars as well as government bonds. As a result of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s change in policy, the aforementioned innovation stocks are therefore under severe pressure. Finally, financing costs for growth are rising and opportunity costs are increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf the corresponding growth fails to materialize, ergo inflation turns into stagflation, the current development could even intensify. Historically, gold and commodities are the only investments that have performed strongly in stagflation in the past (see chart below). They were followed by real estate, which also gained, while stocks lost value on average. Transferring this logic to cryptocurrencies, things look anything but good for the asset class during stagflation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n