Ark Invest: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies Are Behaving As ‘Safe Havens’

Quick Take

– Over the span of three days, from March 11th to 14th, Bitcoin (BTC) saw an accretion in value of approximately 20%. The flagship cryptocurrency has also seen an impressive 15% increase in the last seven days, bringing its price above the $28,000 level.

Ethereum’s Ether (ETH) meanwhile, has seen a 5% increase on a week-over-wee basis and remains relatively unchanged just below $1,800.

– Altcoins have experienced a slip in the last 24 hours, with Cardano’s ADA and Ripple (XRP) losing 4.06% and 4.62, respectively.

Save Haven

Bitcoin prices have continued to soar this week, with Ark Invest noting that BTC’s last week’s rally is an indication of its potential as a safe haven asset.

“In the face of the U.S. and European banking crises, bitcoin’s price appreciation suggests that lax regulatory oversight had no impact on the decentralized, transparent, and auditable crypto asset ecosystem,” Ark Invest’s Yassine Elmandjra wrote in the firm’s weekly newsletter, noting that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are behaving as “safe havens.”

“Last weekend, when many banks were closed, and others were facing bank runs, bitcoin didn’t skip a beat: it settled ~$33 billion, facilitated ~600k transactions, issued 2,037 new BTC at a steady and predictable ~1.8% inflation rate, attracted ~1 million new addresses, and generated $43 million for miners securing the network,” Elmandjra said.

On March 14, Ark Invest Founder and CEO Cathie Wood tweeted something similar to Elmandjra’s recent remarks:

“While the US banking system was seizing up in response to bank runs threatening regional banks, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto networks didn’t skip a beat. Instability in the banking system threatened stablecoins, the on-ramps to DeFi, in stark contrast to regulator rhetoric.”

While the US banking system was seizing up in response to bank runs threatening regional banks, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto networks didn’t skip a beat. Instability in the banking system threatened stablecoins, the on-ramps to DeFi, in stark contrast to regulator rhetoric https://t.co/r5xwC96Pdj

— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) March 15, 2023

Wood also argued that the regulators should have been more cognizant of the centralized, hidden pitfalls within traditional banking systems.

Wood is right, when it comes to safeguarding people’s money and ensuring financial stability, prudence is key. We must all make sure that our banking system has adequate awareness, guardrails and checks to prevent systemic failure or significant losses for customers. Focusing on the hidden risk concentrated in a few banks could make all the difference in creating a thriving economic landscape for everyone.

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