Since its all-time high last November, Bitcoin has plunged by about 72%, while stocks have shed 21%.You couldn't find two assets that are more different, yet their prices are moving in apparent lockstep.Does the collapse of cryptocurrencies have something to do with this year's bear market in stocks? Chart #1I'm posting Chart #1 because it is so intriguing. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is the orange line, stocks the white line. I'm not sure why it is that in the past 2-3 months Bitcoin and stock prices appear to be dancing in lockstep, when six months ago it looked like Bitcoin was leading stocks.Since its all-time high last November, Bitcoin has plunged by about 72%, while stocks have shed 21%. The market value of the cryptocurrency universe is now $855 billion, down from an all-time high of about $2.9 trillion. $2 trillion of Bitcoin "wealth" has been vaporized in just over 7 months. And to think there are over 20,000 cryptocurrencies vying to see which one can gain or lose more than the others. It's crazy.Bitcoin is the very definition of a speculative asset with no intrinsic value that anyone has yet discovered, whereas stocks represent ownership in established and productive enterprises. Moreover, stocks have an expected return that is a function of their future earnings, whereas holding and transacting Bitcoin involve certain costs, with no offsetting dividend or underlying asset. You couldn't find two assets that are more differe...
