Bitcoin was the best investment asset in the first half of 2021 in Brazil, with an appreciation of 15.78%. For comparison, the General Market Price Index (IGP-M) rose 15% in the same period. Thus, the leading cryptocurrency was the only one to outperform inflation in the period.
By the way, bitcoin was responsible for the good performance of the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI), which had positive profitability of 45.07% in the first semester. This index gathers the main crypto assets of the market.
Besides bitcoin, other investments also had a positive performance in the period. For example, the Ibovespa, the Brazilian stock market index, which had started the year in decline, rose 6.5% in the semester, accumulating its fourth monthly high in June.
According to the assessment of Transfero’s Director of Products and Partnerships, Safiri Felix, the first half of 2021 can be divided between two distinct moments. “Until April, the overall sense was one of optimism, with the news stream pushing the price up to US$ 65,000. With the price at record levels, market leverage reached excessive levels, causing a sharp price adjustment in May and June, pulling the price to the range between US$ 30-40,000. I am confident that the price will react positively again in the second half of the year”, he said.
Best investment of the first half, ahead of gold, Ifix, and others
For many, gold competes with bitcoin’s asset diversification proposal. Yet, it had performed negatively in the first six months of 2021, with an 11% devaluation against the real. On the other hand, the dollar also fell compared to the real – on June 29, the currency was quoted at R$ 4.97, a 4.3% drop in the period.
The Real Estate Funds Index (Ifix) fell 4.08% from January to June 30. The reason was the pressure that the real estate market still feels for the pandemic.
Anbima’s index (Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities), IMA-general, formed by all the securities that compose the public debt, had a discrete rise of 0.19% in the year. The CDI (Interbank Deposit Certificate), a private fixed-income bond, in turn, had a modest gain of 0.96% in 2021.
It is worth remembering that at the end of June, the Central Bank’s Boletim Focus projected an advance of 5.05% for the GDP this year. On July 12, a new version of the bulletin showed itself a little more optimistic, with a projection of GDP growth of 5.26%. At the same time, the expectation for the basic interest rate Selic until the end of the year was raised to 6.63%. This prospect of rising inflation further reinforces the idea of bitcoin investments as a store of value.
