Bitcoin’s role in ‘digital asset revolution’ predicted

Crypto assets are no longer on the fringe of the financial system, says the IMF

A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests crypto and equity markets have become increasingly interconnected across economies over time, which raises financial stability concerns.

IMF economist Tara Iyer said that “crypto assets such as Bitcoin have matured from an obscure asset class with few users to an integral part of the digital asset revolution.” She added that with such transition comes greater risks.

The research found that Bitcoin and Ether, which rarely correlated with major stock indexes before the pandemic, helped diversify risk for investors by acting as a hedge against swings in other asset classes. “But this changed after the extraordinary central bank crisis responses of early 2020,” said the report. The correlation coefficient between Bitcoin (BTC) and the S&P 500 has surged 3,600%, going from 0.01 to 0.36 after April 2020.

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“Given [crypto assets’] relatively high volatility and valuations, their increased co-movement could soon pose risks to financial stability especially in countries with widespread crypto adoption,” the IMF said.

It further called for a coordinated global regulatory framework “to guide national regulation and supervision and mitigate the financial stability risks stemming from the crypto ecosystem.”

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