A weakening Chinese Yuan (Renminbi) is helping to fuel the bullish sentiment of bitcoin, according to Taimur Baig of DBS’ Singapore unit.
The chief economist told Financial Times that the recent run-up in the bitcoin price took place after the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) forced the value of the renminbi below $0.14 for the first time since the last financial crisis. The move increased the demand for bitcoin and similar perceived safe-haven assets – such as gold – higher.
“We have seen a big rally,” said Baig. “A falling renminbi is a serious use case for crypto. From now on it is another thing for markets to watch.”
The comments received support from the data provided by Babel Finance. The Beijing-based cryptocurrency bank reported a 50 percent volume increase in the regional bitcoin market over the past ten days. The firm also stated that the cryptocurrency volumes are on their way to the upside from over a month already.
What's driving bitcoin lower at the moment?
Could it be Yuan devaluation, trouble in Argentina, central banks, or other factors?
I have no idea, but here's a discussion I had today with @BLOCKTVnews that I hope you find helpful.https://t.co/r238UsTGtB
— Mati (@MatiGreenspan) August 14, 2019
Bitcoin: Destination or Tunnel?
Chinese financial regulators have banned the trading of bitcoin and similar crypto-assets, leading to the shutting down of several cryptocurrency exchanges. But that has not deterred investors in China from speculating on bitcoin. They continue to trade the cryptocurrency either by offshore accounts in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Investors’ reason to hedge their capital into bitcoin remains unclear. Many believe they want to circumvent the state-imposed capital control by using bitcoin, a non-sovereign asset, as a tunnel to convert a weaker yuan into a relatively stronger US dollar. At the same time, others think investors are long-term bullish on bitcoin, believing it is going to become the leading gold-alternative in terms of store-of-value.
Bitcoin has been given a boost this year by a string of strong monetary policies. In addition to the US-China trade war, a dovish stance of the US Federal Reserve, as well as the European Central Bank’s plans of quantitative easing, is turning investors away from weakening national currencies.
“Bitcoin as a hedge against runaway fiscal and monetary policy has – sort of – becoming the dominant paradigm,” Matt Hougan, global head of research at Bitwise Investment, told Barron’s. “I do think it is acting in that way.”
Hype
On the other hand, some analysts believe bitcoin’s growing correlation with the mainstream financial markets is false-talk. Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, said last week that Chinese are not buying cryptocurrencies as a measure against a weakening market outlook. The American stockbroker added that the speculators were manipulating the bitcoin prices to fit the macroeconomic narrative.
CNBC is trying its best to dupe its audience into buying Bitcoin. Despite gold being a much larger market, CNBC devotes far more airtime to Bitcoin. The Chinese aren't buying Bitcoin as a safe haven. Speculators are buying, betting that the Chinese will buy it as a safe haven!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 5, 2019
At press time, the bitcoin price is heading downwards below the $10,500 level after establishing its August high towards $12,325 on San Francisco-based Coinbase exchange. The move downward appeared amidst the Donald Trump government’s plans to delay imposing tariffs on some of the Chinese goods, including laptops, cellphones, and video game consoles.