Richard Teng, the CEO of crypto exchange Binance, has stated that Bitcoin's volatility is comparable to that observed in most major asset classes. According to a Reuters report from Friday, Teng shared these remarks during a media roundtable in Sydney, emphasizing that all asset classes experience different cycles and levels of volatility.
Teng explained that Bitcoin's recent price decline was attributed to investors deleveraging their positions and a general sense of risk aversion, trends that are mirrored across most major asset classes. "At this point in time, there’s a bit of risk (off) and deleveraging happening," he reportedly commented.
Market Performance and Consolidation
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading just above $82,000, representing a nearly 35% decrease from its all-time high of over $126,000 reached on October 6. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.84 trillion, down 33.6% from its peak of $4.28 trillion. Despite the current downturn, Teng highlighted that Bitcoin's price is more than double what it was in 2024. He noted that the crypto sector has performed exceptionally well over the past 1.5 years, making profit-taking unsurprising.
"Any consolidation is actually healthy for the industry, for the industry to take a breather, find its feet."
Comparing Bitcoin's Volatility to Traditional Markets
Teng's assertion that Bitcoin's volatility is not significantly higher than that of most major asset classes diverges from common perceptions. Data from BitBo indicates that the 60-day BTC-USD volatility marker in 2025 has fluctuated between short-lived dips around 1% and peaks of nearly 2.44%. Historical data suggests a trend of decreasing volatility for Bitcoin as its adoption and liquidity increase. Research from 21Shares shows that annualized volatility, which reached an all-time high of 181% in 2013, dipped as low as 23% this year.
A comparative chart from 21Shares illustrating Bitcoin's volatility against the S&P 500 revealed that during periods of market turmoil this year, the S&P 500's annualized volatility briefly exceeded Bitcoin's. However, this spike was attributed to uncharacteristically high volatility in traditional markets, which has since subsided.
Currently, V-Lab data shows Bitcoin's annualized volatility at over 50%, while the S&P 500's volatility is just over 15%. Nevertheless, within the technology sector, certain stocks exhibit higher volatility than Bitcoin. For instance, vehicle manufacturer Tesla's annualized volatility is over 65%, chip manufacturer AMD's is over 73%, and server manufacturer Super Micro Computer is at 73%. Government intelligence software provider Palantir is also experiencing 63% volatility. These figures, however, represent outliers within traditional finance.