The last 12 months have been barren for forex investors hoping for some currency movements they can base trading strategies on.
Volatility has dwindled from healthy levels in mid-2013 down to 25-year lows in May and July this year.
Several reasons have been put forward for what may be the cause of this dry spell, but the overriding causes appear to be the continually low interest rates set by central banks, increased geopolitical risk and return to growth from major economies (keeping risk low in other assets).
Bitcoin’s nature sets it apart from such outside factors as these. A lack of a central regulator (or base in a national bank) keeps bitcoin separate from interest rate movements and economic recovery. The escalation of tension between any of Russia, America, Israel or the Middle East is unlikely to play out in bitcoin markets.
That has resulted in bitcoin enjoying a starkly different 12 months to more traditional currencies, experiencing a swing worth of over $1,000 before levelling out at somewhere around the $550-$650 mark for the past few months – a comparative drop in volatility, but still unstable when compared to other currencies and markets.
As such, the major movements tend to be associated with major developments in the currency itself. Bitcoin’s growth at the end of 2013 was largely down to a Senate committee ruling on its legitimacy, and dwindling in February around the disastrous fall of Mt Gox.
....
http://www.coindesk.com/lull-forex-volatility-mean-bitcoin/
