The shocking news of Donald Trump’s election victory rattled markets across the world, leading some investors to seek refuge in assets outside of stocks and bonds. The price of gold surged, as it usually does during times of uncertainty, but it wasn’t the only asset to benefit.
The cryptocurrency bitcoin also jumped to a recent high of $738 overnight, and was trading at around $726 on Wednesday morning according to Coindesk. That represents around a 3% increase from the $708 mark that was yesterday’s bitcoin price.
The price jump did not, however, extend to other forms of digital money. The prices of Ethereum and Ripple, which are the second and third biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, are actually down from yesterday, by around 2% and 1% respectively, according to the site Coinmarketcap.
The bitcoin price jump comes as validation to those who argue it is a haven at times of market volatility. Here is how various futures markets looked at the time Trump’s victory became clear:
Futures
S&P: -5%
FTSE: -5%
DAX: -5%
Nikkei: -5%
Crude: -3%
Peso/USD: -12%
Dollar Index: -2%
Gold: +4%
Bitcoin: +3%
Sleep tight…— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) November 9, 2016
More broadly, bitcoin has enjoyed a long period of relative price stability in the second half of 2016. This is a far cry from the wild price swings characterized bitcoin since it began trading in 2010. While it has tracked upwards for most of the year, the current price is still far from the $1,200 mark it hit in 2013 during a period of speculative mania.
Even as its price has stabilized, bitcoin has been largely out of the news as the financial sector has turned its attention instead to the blockchain, which is the underlying technology for bitcoin and is used to create permanent, indelible transaction records.
Meanwhile, gold surged around 4% to $1,316 on Tuesday night as investors digested the surprise election results. A big loser on the evening is the Mexican peso, which fell by double digits on fears that Trump’s protectionist platform will hurt trade with Mexico.
