A recent tweet revealed an interesting fact about the longevity of the ‘teenager’ Bitcoin market. It stated that, because of the 24/7 market hours of Bitcoin, the market is more ‘mature’ than the stock market that boomers made their money on. Is this true? And what could it mean if Bitcoin is, in its short lifespan, older and wiser than the stock market since the ending of the gold standard…
Is Bitcoin Older Than the Modern Fiat Stock Market?
Could Bitcoin be older than the modern fiat stock market? Contrary to common belief, Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, is actually older in terms of trading hours than the modern fiat stock market if we measure from a significant historical benchmark—the Nixon Shock of August 15, 1971.
According to the time recorded in the tweet, the stock market, since the Nixon shock, which means the ending of international convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold, has accumulated 100,737 trading hours. In contrast, Bitcoin has been trading for 123,774+ hours since the inception of the first Bitcoin exchange, New Liberty Standard in on October 5, 2009.
A comparison that is interesting to say the least, as it means that Bitcoin has been ‘battle tested’ more in terms of continuous market availability and length of time upheld, as it has never stopped since its inception and has ‘never’ been manipulated by stopping trading hours in the way that the stock market has.
Not taking into consideration each time the exchanges broke down in moments of extreme volatility. Altogether it has survived more crashes than the stock market and died more times than we can remember.
Comparing Apples and Oranges
While this comparison presents an intriguing perspective, we must acknowledge some important distinctions. Bitcoin and traditional stock markets differ significantly in their functions. Looking at widely-used and established fiat currencies like the dollar and euro, it is reasonable to expect their continued longevity given decades of stability. In contrast, predicting Bitcoin’s long-term viability remains uncertain. Whether it can withstand competition from newer technologies that may offer faster, cheaper transacting remains to be seen.
Conclusion
Drawing parity between Bitcoin’s trading hours and a stock market benchmarked to a historical financial event is an interesting thought experiment. However, directly equating their longevity overlooks key differences in their nature and adoption curves. While fun to consider Bitcoin’s durability against this metric, it says little about its unfolding narrative within the evolving landscape of digital finance.
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