Crypto community split over whether Bitcoin is an inflation hedge

Amid a spike in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), the crypto community announced whether Bitcoin (BTC) is really an inflation hedge.

The CPI, an index that measures the average price change consumers pay for a shopping cart of goods and services, posted its largest one-month gain in 13 years in June, Business Insider reported Tuesday. The reported rise in inflation started in March when the CPI rose 2.6%, followed by further increases in April of 4.2% and finally 5.4% in June.

But despite the recent spike in CPI inflation, Bitcoin is said to have failed as an inflation hedge as its price nearly halved from $ 64,000 in mid-April, some analysts say.

What is interesting is that the CPI #Inflation increased from + 1.4% in January to 5.4% in June, #Bitcoin was basically cut in half[Past performance is no guarantee of future results] pic.twitter.com/QIXeb2m5Vv

– Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) July 13, 2021

Ed Moya, senior equity analyst at foreign exchange firm Oanda, said in a note Tuesday. That inflation is viewed as temporary, however, which is why June’s CPI report likely wasn’t enough of a catalyst to break Bitcoin’s sideways trading, Moya added.

The crypto community then responded with many industry advocates to these observations of CPI vs. Bitcoin Bitcoin emphasize that their initial Bitcoin investments and profits “protected the future”. Several Bitcoin enthusiasts have suggested that Bitcoin has grown historically and has great returns over the long term.

INFLATION HEDGE #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/OjhUY5OLJV

– Hajek.HODL₿⚡ (@hajek_miloslav) July 13, 2021

Connected: Bitcoin benefits as US inflation hits a 13-year high and wages tumble to the 21st century lows

According to some crypto experts, Bitcoin is actually “not a great protection against inflation”. Mati Greenspan, founder of the money management firm Quantum Economics, told Cointelegraph that “there does not appear to be a correlation” between the price of Bitcoin and inflation or deflation data, stating:

“Bitcoin has certainly proven itself over the years. However, most of the gains were made during global deflation, when all risk assets rose. Now that rising inflation is real, it is underperforming for the first time since Bitcoin was born. “

The most recent argument sparked by the CPI offers another twist in the longstanding debates about Bitcoin as a hedge. Some financial analysts, including Nassim Taleb, believe that inflation has nothing to do with Bitcoin price. However, some global investors like Paul Tudor Jones have turned to Bitcoin to protect their investments from inflation.