Bitcoin (BTC) One-Year Realized Volatility Falls to 43%

Bitcoin’s (BTC) realized volatility over the past year was 43%, below its 64% 10-year average and down from 81% five years earlier, placing it within the range of individual S&P 500 stocks.

That comparison covers S&P 500 constituent stocks individually, not the benchmark as a whole. Realized volatility measures past price movements. It does not show whether Bitcoin rose or fell during the measurement period or predict future volatility.

Deeper market liquidity, broader institutional participation, market maturation and regulation are linked to the decline in volatility. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products on Jan. 10, 2024.

Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s head of research, described the portfolio question this way: “That shifts the question from whether to own a volatile asset to how to size an allocation.”