Compiled by entrepreneur and market commentator Alistair Milne, exchange rate figures show that at this week’s highs, Bitcoin was worth more in seven currencies than ever before.
Countries where #Bitcoin has hit a new ATH in their local currency:
Brazil – pop. 209million
Turkey – pop. 82m
Argentina – pop. 44.5m
Sudan – pop. 41m
Angola – pop. 30m
Venezuala – pop. 29m
Zambia – pop. 17mSoon:
Russia
Colombia… then all other fiat currencies
— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) October 22, 2020
Milne: other currencies will follow
Bitcoin’s weekly gains stood at over 15% overnight on Wednesday, as BTC/USD reached $13,200 before reversing to press-time levels of $12,800.
The rate of change surprised many and came at a time when many countries’ fiat currencies — specifically those of developing nations — were suffering from the coronavirus and the impact of central banks’ economic reactions to it.
The last time that Bitcoin traded at around $13,000, and even when it hit its own all-time highs of $20,000 in late 2017, the economic picture looked very different.
In Brazil for example, where 1 BTC now buys more reals than ever before, savers have seen the value of their currency decline by 28% against the U.S. dollar in a single year.
At 209 million, Brazil formed the largest country by population on Milne’s list. The others include Turkey, Argentina and Venezuela, with the total population of all countries involved standing at 450 million.
Milne additionally forecast that Russia and Colombia would soon join, followed at some point in time by “all other fiat currencies.”
USD faces its own battle
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s inverse correlation to the U.S. dollar currency index remained in focus as its bull run took hold.
Measuring USD strength against a basket of trading partner currencies, DXY declined during October to press-time levels of 92.72, coinciding with fresh strength in BTC.
U.S. dollar currency index 1-month chart. Source: TradingView
The impact of the upcoming U.S. elections may produce further USD volatility, analysts warned.
“If the DXY closes below the structure in the 92.5 zone, this would support any inflation assets like commodities and gold, as well as growth stocks,” Miles Ruttan of Bytown Capital wrote earlier in the month.
The extent of Bitcoin’s growth has nonetheless led to announcements that it has left behind its correlation to traditional macro assets.