Long-term, Bitcoin is a Store of Value.
Short-term, Bitcoin is a speculative asset.
By long-term, I mean the time horizon is 5-10 years (more than 1 halving). This is my current thesis. We can divide Bitcoin owners into two groups: long-term hodlers and short-term traders. The groups are somewhat fluid. Some hodlers switch to trading. Some traders switch to holding.
Bitcoin's price movement is mostly controlled by traders in the short-term. But in the long-term, hodlers will ultimately decide the price movement. Bitcoin price long-term has been up. That suggests a growing number of hodlers. Data also suggests growing hodlers.
People will move their money around. Know your long-term timeline. Ignore short-term price movement.
5-10 years isn't really a long term, I bet nothing will seriously change in Bitcoin - the price will be higher than it is now, but it still would be speculative and risky. If some other major crisis will happen at that time, Bitcoin would probably react just as it did now.
Bitcoin today is ten times higher than it was 4-5 years ago, and still it is just as volatile. It will take really-really long for Bitcoin to become a mainstream asset like gold, if it will actually happen.
I agree that the return is not guaranteed. Even the famous Stock-to-Flow model is showing weakness in this downturn. I put 5-10 years for reference. Adults working timespan ranges 40-50 years. Volatility does not disqualify SoV function. Gold is highly volatile as well. The most important feature is retaining value over time. If an asset can deliver an above-average return, I would consider it a Store of Value.
Bitcoin's price movement is mostly controlled by traders in the short-term. But in the long-term, hodlers will ultimately decide the price movement. Bitcoin price long-term has been up. That suggests a growing number of hodlers. Data also suggests growing hodlers.
I would say that the price of bitcoin is entirely determined by active traders and not just most of it because the market is always active and prices continue to fluctuate then I think both in the short run or in the long run prices will still be determined by traders.
Holders will enjoy the benefits of active trading results carried out by traders today if the price exceeds the issued capital and will suffer losses if the trader currently wants a lower price. Suply and demand made by traders today will determine whether the holder gets profit or loss.
5-10 years isn't really a long term, I bet nothing will seriously change in Bitcoin - the price will be higher than it is now, but it still would be speculative and risky. If some other major crisis will happen at that time, Bitcoin would probably react just as it did now.
Agree with you, there is no certainty about the price of bitcoin for a long time and the price can still be 5 times higher than now and also can still be lower. Many things can affect the demand and supply in the market and one of them is the crisis and even global health problems such as a pandemic.
There's always a group of hodlers who are constantly buying bitcoins. They do affect the price. The data has shown a growing number of hodlers.
https://plotly.com/~unchained/37/bitcoin-utxo-age-distribution/#/The current 5y hodler sits at 21%.