Against the British pound, Bitcoin trade volume shoots up!!

[Majestic-milf]

 With inflation hitting the UK and causing financial unrest, some experts look to Bitcoin as they feel it could make a positive impact on their some what unstable economy..
 According to data shared by James Butterfill, head of digital assets at Coinshares, shows that trade volume with Bitcoin as against the British pound climbed to a high of $881m as of Monday, 26th Sept.!

Meanwhile, the average trade volume between BTC/GBP on a daily is about $70m, invariably meaning an increase compared to the standard of 1,160%.

 With the rate at which the GBP tends to experience volatility, it would only be wise to look at other means. Like becoming a Bitcoin hub for instance, since adopting it will seem a bit of a stretch, Gabor Gubarcs tweet summarized.
 Furthermore, this decline in finance in the UK seemed to have become noticed since the introduction of Prime Minister, Liz Truss' fiscal policies, an analysis proved.

Liz Truss' tweet
 
 It looks like she's gotten sidelined from her first view on crypto currencies now. Is there a plan to resuscitate the pound or will be Bitcoin be later considered?

https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/09/29070563/btcgbp-volumes-skyrocket-over-1-100-as-the-pound-continues-its-freefall

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[Poker Player]

I heard this news yesterday. It's quite logical, faced with the possibility of the pound going bust or the UK government taking capital restraint measures, people buy what they can't confiscate. Although I would like to know what percentage of those who are buying Bitcoin are keeping their private keys. I'll bet something that there is a not small percentage who leave the Bitcoin in centralized entities.

It looks like she's gotten sidelined from her first view on crypto currencies now. Is there a plan to resuscitate the pound or will be Bitcoin be later considered?

She will be thinking of a plan to re-strengthen the pound somehow, the UK government is not even going to remotely consider giving Bitcoin legal tender status if that's what you mean, because they can't control it.

[mk4]

Just a quick note for the people that might think that this is automatically bullish: an increase in trading volume with the trading pair doesn't necessarily mean that a lot of people are buying. Trading volume accounts for both buys and sells!

[pooya87]

With inflation hitting the UK and causing financial unrest, some experts look to Bitcoin as they feel it could make a positive impact on their some what unstable economy..

I predicted such behavior more than 6 months ago. When inflation hits your economy, a lot of people look to invest their tanking fiat into something they can trust as a hedge against inflation.

Now you might ask why price hasn't gone up. My explanation is that most of the world is not struggling with inflation alone, they are struggling with inflation + recession like in United States. In that situation, people don't have any money to invest because they are already struggling to pay the rent, buy groceries, pay the bills, etc. (on top of that we have a lot of state sponsored market manipulation but that's another topic).
Recession is starting to reach UK too but it is not yet as severe as the inflation.

In my experience when fiat is dumping people will look for a way to keep their purchase power or at least part of it. That is achieved by investment. I believe bitcoin has become a viable investment for many because of its deflationary nature and the fact that it has been performing excellently all these years.

[Kayeshlyn]

After the value of the British pound fell relative to the dollar and gas prices rose, cryptocurrency assets were used as an alternative investment asset by Britons. Those who have not yet entered the cryptocurrency business fear that they will face the danger of being left behind.

In the midst of the financial crisis the British public has turned various types of cryptocurrency coins into investment assets. Among buyers in the UK, Bitcoin is the most popular coin, followed by Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Chainlink.
 
The development of the cryptocurrency business is currently growing rapidly in the UK after the British government appointed Elizabeth Truss as prime minister. Following comments made by their Treasury Secretary before the UK Parliament that the government would make the country crypto technology friendly, the UK government signaled a quick push to embrace cryptocurrencies.

[LoyceV]

When inflation hits your economy, a lot of people look to invest their tanking fiat into something they can trust as a hedge against inflation.

That's the crazy part: even gold is dropping in value. All economic common sense seems to be gone, while the inflation is higher than ever. Inflation is like a tax, but it's less visible. It makes people think they get more money, while their purchasing power doesn't go up (or even goes down). I blame the BRRR, and somehow they all worry more about a possible recession than about the huge inflation. The entire fiat money system is build on eternal growth, which can't go on forever.
The British policy seem to be even weirder with their new prime minister giving tax breaks to the rich.

And that's why I like Bitcoin: it may drop now because of the fear for less BRRR, but nothing else changed: it's still impossible to inflate Bitcoin like they do with fiat. Long-term, I have much more confidence in Bitcoin than any fiat money.

[BRINIRHA]

maybe more investors will put their money in bitcoin. because now some currencies have been depreciating in value. and the US Dollar has increased. but I don't think this is enough to make the bitcoin market bullish. besides bitcoin I also heard that interest in gold is increasing. although some time ago it turned out that gold was experiencing a decline. but they still make gold as the guardian of the value of their assets. and when Gold decreased it turned out that bitcoin actually went up. that means there is a transfer of funds in it. which originally many who bought gold then became less and moved to bitcoin. The pound sterling has suffered its worst decline in history. it's no wonder that many are looking for alternative ways to maintain asset values. While the US dollar continues to increase this week.

[stompix]

That's the crazy part: even gold is dropping in value. All economic common sense seems to be gone, while the inflation is higher than ever. ~ I blame the BRRR, and somehow they all worry more about a possible recession than about the huge inflation.

And it keeps getting funnier.
China’s yuan falls to the lowest level against the dollar since 2008 as foreign currencies continue their sickening lurch

And who is the king of the hill, breaking every currency in its path and sending them to a decade if not centuries low?
The one doing the most BRR of all, the good old $!
Everything everywhere is getting hammered, no place to hide! 

I heard this news yesterday. It's quite logical, faced with the possibility of the pound going bust or the UK government taking capital restraint measures, people buy what they can't confiscate. Although I would like to know what percentage of those who are buying Bitcoin are keeping their private keys. I'll bet something that there is a not small percentage who leave the Bitcoin in centralized entities.

Probably a tiny fraction, take for example the largest GBP/BTC volume pair, that's on bitfinex:
https://trading.bitfinex.com/t/BTC:GBP?type=exchange

You see the spike on the 26 and then, nothing, volume dropped from 42k BTC to 1.7k two days later, those are not poeple rushing to send they money to an exchange and buy coins to store, these are orders exploiting the news and momentum.

[Lucius]

Now you might ask why price hasn't gone up. My explanation is that most of the world is not struggling with inflation alone, they are struggling with inflation + recession like in United States. In that situation, people don't have any money to invest because they are already struggling to pay the rent, buy groceries, pay the bills, etc. (on top of that we have a lot of state sponsored market manipulation but that's another topic).
Recession is starting to reach UK too but it is not yet as severe as the inflation.

I won't say that no one invests in Bitcoin because that wouldn't be true, but I completely agree with you that a very small percentage of people can afford any risky investments at the moment - and when it comes to Bitcoin, many assume that the big the bull run will not happen before the second half of 2024 after the halving anyway.

The price of BTC is the best indicator of supply and demand, and all these movements are mostly manipulations anyway, because those who have a lot of Bitcoin and fiat know how to make a fortune even if we are talking about a 5% price change.

[hugeblack]

Do you think that someone has feared from 3%-15% fluctuations during one year. will bear to waste his money in cryptocurrencies with much more fluctuations? Knowing that Bitcoin, according to technical analysis, will not witness a crazy increase during the next year.

What I am trying to say is that people in such circumstances will resort to a reliable solution such as government lending, buying gold, real estate, cars, or investing in stocks even if they achieve losses.

[stompix]

What I am trying to say is that people in such circumstances will resort to a reliable solution such as government lending, buying gold, real estate, cars, or investing in stocks even if they achieve losses.

I think that at least in the UK you can scratch two of the things there, cars and real estate.
First for real estate is really hard to have enough money set aside already to buy something, not with such horrendous prices on the housing market, and probably the tiny number that does afford to buy one cash down have already diversified their assets a long time ago.  Not saying that there aren't people who do this but I don't think they would even count on the overall picture. Bitcoin, even at those numbers that are just for a record day still seems like it's still not yet there, still needs a bit more time or a more serious push or something else.

I think that most will go for government bonds or index funds, it's human nature when faced with dilemmas to try and chose the easy way out, one that doesn't involve much thinking, and with these, it's pretty easy, they order their bank to buy it and then they just watch graph and do nothing.
Going by that simple mind approach I would invest in energy stocks. If they are going up at least I get some returns for the high electricity/gas costs, if the stocks go down at least it means prices for the mentioned are also cooling so, in a simple man's perspective it's a nice hedge.

[pooya87]

That's the crazy part: even gold is dropping in value. All economic common sense seems to be gone, while the inflation is higher than ever. Inflation is like a tax, but it's less visible. It makes people think they get more money, while their purchasing power doesn't go up (or even goes down).

I still think recession is the key reason here making all the difference but I've been thinking about this some more and maybe it's also because people were caught by surprise so they didn't know what to do specially since a lot of crisis happened all at the same time with the Russia/Ukraine thing (food and energy).
And I know you guys aren't used to high having inflation rates so it is understandable for majority of people to have no experience in similar situations (they had never planned for it either).

Inflation is such a normal thing here which has made majority of Iranians into hardcore investors. From gold (specially coins) to real estate and stock market.
Fun fact, for the past months things are not-normal ever since inflation rate went down and then the exchange rate of Rial went up by about 20%

[Welsh]

I still think recession is the key reason here making all the difference but I've been thinking about this some more and maybe it's also because people were caught by surprise so they didn't know what to do specially since a lot of crisis happened all at the same time with the Russia/Ukraine thing (food and energy).
And I know you guys aren't used to high having inflation rates so it is understandable for majority of people to have no experience in similar situations (they had never planned for it either).

Not sure if you're just referring to Gold investors here, but I've never understood anyone that didn't think a recession has been coming. I've been saying it for quite a few months now, and I've predicted it to be on par or worse than the great depression. Considering the pound is at its lowest level, the housing market is pretty much heading for a substantial collapse, I think that prediction might come true.

Plus, I just mentioned this in another related post, but this is two rather substantial recessions in just over ten years, which basically means the same people who went through 2008/2009 are now experiencing again, another recession which will likely claim some banks existence, and will require investment to keep them alive, i.e the exact same as 2008/2009.

So, consumer confidence is at a all time low right now, which is only going to be compounded by a decline in the housing market. I know it's technically only the pound right now that's massively suffering, but every single market is showing signs of struggle e.g gold. So, within a couple of months I believe we'll be on a global level of decline, which will only be emphasised by the recent pandemic, and war investment with Russia, and Ukraine.

This is literally only the start of the recession, we aren't even knee deep in it yet, and the pound has dropped a crazy amount. I remember when you could nearly get two dollars for a pound, how times change right?

[kryptqnick]

This is a huge volume spike, and it most likely speaks to the concerns that people in the UK are having. I've been living here for nearly a year, and, to be honest, I haven't noticed the spike in prices (and, thankfully, I pay a fixed amount for rent, including the bills, so I don't feel the change in the cost of utilities), but I can see that people are very concerned. I believe it comes more from the fact that it's a very developed country with a strong economy, so people here just aren't that used to financial drawbacks rather than that what's going on is truly a huge deal objectively (I mean the pound, not the trading volume with Bitcoin). But since the worry is real, people can be more inclined to look at things like Bitcoin to see if they can invest in it or try trading.

[LoyceV]

Inflation is such a normal thing here which has made majority of Iranians into hardcore investors. From gold (specially coins) to real estate and stock market.

That's the difference in Europe (and no doubt the US too now): since the negative interest is now forced to go up, the usual hedges against inflation don't work anymore. Gold, real estate and the stock market are dropping now. So while fiat money is losing it's value, those investments are dropping faster.

Not sure if you're just referring to Gold investors here, but I've never understood anyone that didn't think a recession has been coming.

I'd say a recession is long overdue.

I know it's technically only the pound right now that's massively suffering

I guess you haven't checked how the euro is doing

[Welsh]

I guess you haven't checked how the euro is doing

I made the mistake of checking it to the pound, and was like that's not so bad. Then, the realisation kicked in that both have gone down quite some bit. I'd say it's only a matter of time before the rest of the currencies follow. No doubt, each government will be putting preventive measures in to stabilise it at the moment, but ultimately whatever measures they implement we'll be paying for it down the line.

Then we'll get a housing crash, and basically we'll start seeing people defaulting on their mortgages, and potentially banks ceasing trading or getting bailed out once again. Bitcoin to me should see positive growth during this time, and it might actually help us get out of this rut. Although, it's hard to predict since we'll also be feeling the effects of lesser buying power, I guess it's a question of what's more powerful. Decreased buying power as a result of the recession or people losing faith in banks, and fiat in general.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

The good news in all this is that our dear bitcoin is getting the recognition it deserves, more people are getting to know what bitcoin is, they are finally knowing there is indeed, a reliable alternative to the already collapsing fiat system of money, and I hope that some day in the future, bitcoin will become a major player in our money system.

[bocyaj]

The dump market was started to little green now.It may or may not be the real factor,but the pump after a random dump was the welcome one from the traders view.When people inverse their money in crypto,it’s hard to get huge profit from it from the long run.Instead of making some bad sense,view everything in a good sense in the trading platform.

[coolcoinz]

I won't say that no one invests in Bitcoin because that wouldn't be true, but I completely agree with you that a very small percentage of people can afford any risky investments at the moment - and when it comes to Bitcoin, many assume that the big the bull run will not happen before the second half of 2024 after the halving anyway.

The price of BTC is the best indicator of supply and demand, and all these movements are mostly manipulations anyway, because those who have a lot of Bitcoin and fiat know how to make a fortune even if we are talking about a 5% price change.

I'd argue that holding cash is the real risk. As others have pointed out there's no common sense and people are acting opposite to what they should be doing.

USD is being pumped without any fundamentals backing it up because the industry is not expanding, DOW is actually dropping by a lot and people, against any reason, are buying and holding USD, which pumps it even more against what really has value like top stocks, gold and IMO bitcoin. To be honest, I'd rather hold yuan right now than dollar simply because of how much it was pumped in the recent months.

[Welsh]

The good news in all this is that our dear bitcoin is getting the recognition it deserves, more people are getting to know what bitcoin is, they are finally knowing there is indeed, a reliable alternative to the already collapsing fiat system of money, and I hope that some day in the future, bitcoin will become a major player in our money system.

Probably at the best time. Bitcoin was created in reaction to a recession, and the bank bail outs. Now, to kick us up a gear we needed a compounding recession to get people thinking about alternatives, especially since it wasn't all that long ago.

Who knows, maybe this was part of the plan, knowing we'd have recession after recession, and therefore people would get sick of it eventually, and look for alternatives. Now, Bitcoin is looking pretty lucrative, because the mentality of people will be no matter how hard they work, recession after recession hits, and therefore they don't gain in the long run. Whereas, Bitcoin has literally times'd it value several times over in consecutive years.

I'd say it's only a matter of time. It's whether or not governments become more hostile to Bitcoin as a result, which I expect they will.