Bitcoin Has Been Less Volatile Than Tesla Stock for Months

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28 September 2020

Bitcoin (BTC) is often criticized for being overly volatile, but it’s been a sea of calm compared with Tesla stock in recent months.

  • Tesla (TSLA) has been seeing bigger daily percentage moves since the end of June, according to 30-day realized volatility data.
  • Further, the volatility gulf between the two assets has been widening in recent weeks.
  • Bitcoin witnessed a below-1.25% daily move in 14 out of the last 27 days, according to data from TradingView – almost 52% of the time.
  • However, Tesla only achieved sub-1.25% moves 6% of the time over the same period, data source Skew tweeted early Monday.
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Volatility of bitcoin price and Tesla stock
(CoinDesk Research)
  • "People always assume bitcoin is incredibly volatile, but it's not more volatile than many popular tech stocks," Skew co-founder and CEO Emmanuel Goh told CoinDesk.
  • Looking at the price charts, both bitcoin and Tesla have witnessed two-way business this month and formed contracting triangles (narrowing price ranges), as shown below.
  • However, Tesla has seen a month-to-date price decline of 18% – far worse than bitcoin's 6% drop.
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Daily charts for Tesla and bitcoin
Source: TradingView
  • Bitcoin's 30-day historical volatility, which measures the price action realized in the past 30 days, has been flatlined near 55% (annualized) since Sept. 3.
  • Further, its 30-day implied volatility – that is, investors' expectations of how volatile price will be over the next four weeks – has declined to 44%, the lowest level in nearly two years.
  • In the past, big moves have been preceded by an implied volatility reading of less than 50%.
  • At press time, the cryptocurrency is currently trading at $10,911, representing an over 2% gain on the day.
  • The weekly chart MACD histogram, an indicator used to identify trend changes and trend strength, has crossed bearish below zero.
  • As such, the cryptocurrency may face some chart-driven selling pressure in the short term.

Also read: The Real Story Behind Tesla’s Crazy Rally

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