Making the right call in investing sometimes requires you to look excruciatingly wrong for a while.
The investment advisers who declined to board the cryptocurrency hype train understand this well. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies took off in 2020 and didn’t peak until roughly 12 months ago. Anti-crypto advisers and money managers must have hated those days of saying no to something that made so much money for anyone bold enough to dive in.
They’re over it now, though. With cryptocurrency prices collapsing, everyone in the investment advice industry who declined to trust crypto with client money is vindicated. Kudos to all for being willing to look bad in the near term so they could be right later on about what’s good for investors.
Crypto is still in its infancy and may yet turn out to be a reliable financial asset we commonly invest in or use for making payments. What advisers got right was the idea of staying away during a speculative frenzy that could only end badly. The price of bitcoin, ethereum and other coins is down by half to two-thirds or more this year. FTX, a once-celebrated crypto exchange, has filed for bankruptcy protection with debts in the billions of dollars.
Advisers saw this coming, even while others in the investment industry viewed crypto as an opportunity. The investing app Wealthsimple Trade made crypto trading simple and accessible for individuals. A TSX-listed exchange-traded fund called the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC-T) was the first of its type in the world, and it sparked a bunch of competitors. The global giant Fidelity Investments added a tiny amount of crypto to its TSX-listed asset allocation ETFs, which are aimed at middle-of-the-road investors. The most shocking crypto foray by Canada’s investing establishment has to be an investment by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in FTX that will result in a US$95-million loss.
For the most part, though, crypto has mostly been a story of individual investors buying in on their own while advisers and money managers mainly watched from the sidelines. Back in March, 2021, I wrote a piece with the headline Why Your Investment Adviser Hates Bitcoin. I surveyed advisers on LinkedIn and found a stern resistance to incorporating it into client portfolios on the basis that it was hard to value and thus too risky.
There wasn’t even much take-up on an idea that seemed crafted specifically for advisers – that cryptocurrency would improve the diversification of portfolios by adding a component to complement stocks and bonds. In 2022, crypto’s the classic “diworsification” asset: However much your stocks and bonds are down, crypto is worse.
Resisting crypto at its peak took some conviction because prices were rising so fast. Bitcoin pretty much quadrupled from November, 2020, to the same month last year, and other cryptocurrencies soared as well. To stand against crypto as an adviser was to risk coming off like an apologist for an outdated and decaying financial system – just the sort of thing crypto investors saw themselves as rebelling against.
The pressure on advisers to accept crypto must have been intense, given how much faith individual Canadians put in the sector. “Polls seem to indicate that Canadians are more likely to be invested in crypto than American, Australian, or British households,” says a recent report from the independent analysis company Morningstar.
Recent analysis from TD Securities said the launch of crypto ETFs helped increase the level of retail investor trading in the non-core “alternative ETF” category to almost 80 per cent of total volumes from 40 per cent early last year.
The Purpose Bitcoin ETF hit $1-billion in assets in March, 2021, a phenomenal achievement for an investment product just one month old. The latest numbers show the fund lost about 70 per cent for the 12 months to Oct. 31, with assets down from March, 2021 levels by half. Thank an adviser today if they saved you from getting caught up in this decline.
Did you roll the dice and invest in crypto during the pandemic? We want to hear how your thoughts on crypto have changed – or stayed the same. E-mail Globe reporter Salmaan Farooqui at sfarooqui@globeandmail.com to share your story.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
