Report by Erik Norland, Senior Economist at CME Group This paper examines why bitcoin is so volatile; its supply and demand drivers, and how the cryptocurrency compares to commodities. What is most striking about the economics of bitcoin is the certainty of its supply and the vagaries of demand. The rate at which bitcoin is mined has been highly predictable and unlike almost any other asset – currencies or commodities – its ultimate supply is a known quantity, fixed well in advance. There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins. This feature makes supply almost perfectly inelastic. No matter…