Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, noted Bitcoin's BTC/USD underperformance in August vis-à-vis other major asset classes.

What happened: In an X post on Sunday, the renowned economist compared the leading cryptocurrency with blue-chip stock indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the S&P 500, and major commodities like gold and oil.

The usual monthly table of YTD returns for major asset classes/assets.

After a very shaky start to August, most recovered to register positive returns for the month (including a few record levels). The notable exceptions were Bitcoin, Chinese equities, and oil.#markets… pic.twitter.com/I8oWtdGWmg — Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) August 31, 2024

He observed how most assets recovered strongly after Black Monday—the day when capital markets around the world went on a downward spiral—with the exception of Bitcoin, Chinese equities and oil.

Indeed, the Dow gained 3.01% over the last month, while the S&P 500 was up 3.7% over the month. Additionally, gold traded flat with just a 0.39% decline during August.

However, King Crypto plunged more than 11%, failing to notch a sustainable recovery after Monday's rout.

See Also: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele Says Bitcoin Uptake Hasn’t Been A ‘Resounding Success’ — ‘We Have Never Forced Anyone To Adopt It’

However, despite the turbulent performance in August, the apex cryptocurrency remained the best-performing asset year-to-date, with more than 38% gains.

Why It Matters: Sentiment around the digital asset remained weakened last week.

Exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin's spot price recorded net inflows of $277 million last week, with August witnessing net outflows of just over $12 million.

The cryptocurrency market started September on a weak note as leading coins tumbled over the weekend. Historically, the month has been unfavorable for Bitcoin, with average losses of 4.63%. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust IBIT was the largest ETF, with assets exceeding $21 billion as of this writing, according to SoSo Value.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $57,615.69, down 1.3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo by International Monetary Fund on Flickr

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