The world remains in a volatile situation: There’s unrest in France over its deteriorating finances and big political changes are potentially afoot in the U.S. and Israel. Then there’s the ongoing war with Iran, including increased attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi strikes against Saudi Arabia. Yet, in the contest for best haven asset, here’s the scoreboard for October:

What happened to the idea that gold and Bitcoin were the new flight-to-quality beneficiaries? Maybe it’s time to declare the end of the faddish dollar debasement trade talked up by the likes of Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio and Citadel’s Ken Griffin, in which investors were supposedly jettisoning the greenback and flocking to substitutes.

Bitcoin’s slide worsened recently after hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance in the biggest such heist in history, puncturing the idea that crypto is a reliable store of value. But the unraveling is broader than just one hack. Over the past year, Bitcoin’s slump has reaffirmed its not-so-secret identity as a leveraged play on the Nasdaq 100 Index........

© The Japan Times