Written by Sebastian Wanke | 14 January 2014
Posted in Database news

With its Bitcoins Sentiment sentix has introduced a new indicator within the sentix Asset Class Sentiment family of indices at the end of last year. This index is – on a worldwide level – the first which measures investors' sentiment for this digital currency. Now, in January, Decembers' first impression is confirmed: investors are extremely negative for Bitcoins.

sentix Bitcoins Sentiment falls this month from -45.0 to -49.5 points. The indicator may theoretically fluctuate between -100 and +100 points, but actual readings for the other sentix Asset Class indicators have in the past ten years never displayed values of lower than -60 or higher than +40. Consequently, an overwhelming majority of investors currently finds Bitcoins a rather unattractive investment and prefers other vehicles. A similar skepticism towards the future performance of an asset class could so far only be observed during the financial crisis: in mid-2007 for corporate bonds (sentix Credit Sentiment) and in 2008 and 2009 for initial public offerings (sentix IPO Sentiment).

This negative attitude stands in stark contrast to the current media hype surrounding Bitcoins. As technical questions prevail and as the digital currency fluctuates strongly in price, Bitcoins do not yet fulfill all requirements for being treated as a full-fledged currency. That is exactly what is reflected in the current readings of sentix Bitcoins Sentiment. The future of the cryptocurrency thus remains open.

 

Background:

sentix Bitcoins Sentiment is surveyed on a monthly basis since December 2013 and part of the sentix Asset Class Sentiment survey which is regularly conducted around the second Friday of each month. Other indicators of the sentix Asset Class Sentiment family of indices are sentix Commodity Sentiment, sentix Credit Sentiment, sentix Emerging Markets Bonds Sentiment, sentix Emerging Markets Equities Sentiment, sentix IPO Sentiment, and sentix Real Estate Sentiment.

Participants in the sentix surveys on asset class sentiment may choose a category from a range of 1 to 5 to show how inclined they are towards an asset class in relation to another. The indicator may fluctuate between -100 and +100 while the third category (category number 3) of the given range marks the zero line and signals neutrality.

The current survey was conducted from January 9 to January 11, 2014. 958 investors (of which 247 institutional ones) took part in it.