Tesla, AMD and Nvidia show higher volatility than Bitcoin in October 2024

Tesla stock topped the volatility charts with 24%, followed by AMD with 16% and Nvidia with 12%, all exceeding bitcoin’s 11% range of movement, according to my calculations.

Other tech giants have shown less volatility than bitcoin. Intel saw price swings of 9%, while Meta and Microsoft remained around 8%. Amazon showed volatility of 7%, Google at 6%. Apple proved the most stable of the stocks analyzed, with just under 6% monthly volatility.

This volatility distribution suggests that the conventional financial narrative may need updating, as the data no longer supports the hypothesis that bitcoin is significantly more volatile than leading tech stocks. Notably, Tesla’s 24% volatility more than doubled bitcoin’s 11% range in October 2024.

Looking at the maximum daily price movements, Tesla posted the biggest one-day gain at +21.92% and AMD showed the steepest decline at -10.62%, both well above bitcoin’s relatively modest range from +5.11% to -3.95%. Most tech stocks saw lopsided moves with declines outpacing gains, while Tesla stood out with its gain more than double its biggest decline of -8.78%.

Methodology: To test bitcoin’s volatility against traditional markets, we looked at major tech stocks with high trading volumes and media attention. We measured price changes using daily log returns in October 2024, calculating their standard deviation as a monthly percentage of volatility. All price data was obtained from Investing.com.

The Reasons Behind Bitcoin’s Low Volatility

Data from October showing that bitcoin is more stable than some major tech stocks extends them for the long term trend towards price stability. This change can be attributed to several key market factors.

Institutional maturity

“What we are witnessing now is the maturation of bitcoin as an asset, with large, stable holders and significant institutional buy-in,” Mike Ermolaev, founder of Outset PR, said in an emailed statement. “While bitcoin is not immune to market forces, the difference in volatility between it and high-growth tech stocks is telling: bitcoin is increasingly behaving like a less speculative asset,” Ermolaev explained, pointing to bitcoin ETF flows as evidence of institutional confidence in the stability of the cryptocurrency.

Market integration

“There is more overlap in terms of stock and cryptocurrency traders than most realize, and that brings more similar volatility,” Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Markets, said in an emailed statement. “As we begin to migrate to venues that feature both equity and crypto that can be cross-collateralized, the two will be more correlated,” he added, pointing to the growing integration of the market through platforms that offer cross-collateralization between both types of assets.

Safe haven potential

“Bitcoin’s unexpected stability since October could signal its emerging role as a modern safe-haven asset,” Alan Orwick, co-founder at Quai Network, said in an emailed statement. “It may be time to ask where the real value lies in an inflationary future,” Orwick noted, referring to investor Paul Tudor Jones’ recent suggestion that “all roads lead to inflation” because of the US fiscal trajectory.

But perhaps volatility isn’t a downside

“It’s part of what makes emerging asset classes like crypto, and even stocks like Tesla, AMD and Nvidia so dynamic,” said Dr. Tonya M. Evans, digital money expert at Penn State Dickinson Law , in an emailed statement. “Just as traditional financial markets have established themselves over time, bitcoin will likely follow suit as adoption continues to grow and expand,” Evans observed, suggesting that volatility should be seen as “a sign of new opportunities in an evolving financial landscape for both traditional finance and emerging digital asset markets”.