Weekly Update 12 Feb 2021

Bonds and national currencies fell, cryptocurrencies continued their strong advances, and stocks and commodities were mixed, but mostly higher. Bitcoin rose 23.6% to a new all-time high, but the broader index of 30 cryptos did even better, closing up 31.4%. Platinum gained 8.1%, but coffee suffered the week's worst losses, dropping 3.4%.

The Euro outperformed other national currencies by finishing the week unchanged. The US Dollar dropped the most, giving up 0.7%. Short term notes also declined 0.7%, but long term bonds fell 1.4%.

In the world of cryptocurrencies, things continue to explode higher, driven by a river of adoption news. Bitcoin gained 23.6% to hit a new all-time high of 813.5 grams. Ethereum was tamer, rising just 6.5%, but is now trading for more than an ounce of gold, and sits just 3.6% below its ATH. However the largest gains were in the altcoins, as the index of the 30 largest cryptos soared 31.4%. 100 grams of gold invested the CCi30 in Jan-2015 would be worth 10.5 kg today… more than a 100x gain in 6 years, achieved with a diversified portfolio of crypto currencies. And the index still sits 43% below its all-time high!

The only declining equities were the gold stocks, as the HUI fell 1.5%. The Nikkei 225 led the way higher, rising 2.3%. US stock markets were relatively weak, with the Dow Industrials adding 0.3% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.5%. Despite closing at new all-time highs priced in Dollars, when priced in gold, the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials are still 61% below their respective all-time highs set 22 years ago. And this is after a huge bull market from 2011 to 2019 that more than tripled their values. The Dow today is priced about the same as it was in 1996, 1972, 1959 and 1929.

Coffee was the sole commodity in the red, dropping 3.4%, the largest drop for any asset. Palladium broke even, but all others rose, led by its cousin platinum, which gained 8.1%, qualifying it as the best performing asset outside of crypto. Cotton was also strong, rising 4.7%. Copper and crude oil added 3.7% and 3.8% respectively. Silver was up 1.3%.

Year over year, the cryptocurrencies continue their dominance, as Ethereum rose 575.9% and Bitcoin gained 296.1%. Outside of the cryptoshere, silver and copper were the largest winners, rising 32.7% and 25.4% respectively. The US Dollar fell the most, dropping 13.9% while palladium came in second, giving up 13.5% of its value.