The latest research from investment management company Van Eck: Bitcoin's volatility is lower than many stocks

New research released Friday by investment management firm Van Eck suggests that bitcoin’s price volatility is smaller than that of one-quarter to one-third of the stocks in the S&P 500.

The German exchange-traded product issuer said in a blog post that while Bitcoin has long been considered an "emerging volatile asset outside of traditional equity and capital markets," the reality is that the world's largest cryptocurrency is trading with volatility comparable to stocks of some of the world's largest companies.

Van Eck said that so far this year, 29% of S&P 500 stocks have more price volatility than Bitcoin, and 22% of S&P 500 stocks have more price volatility than Bitcoin within 90 days.

The research is notable because Van Eck’s flagship product is heavily focused on an asset class that has long been viewed as a competitor to bitcoin: gold.

Of the nearly $50 billion in assets under management at Van Eck, much of it is tied up in gold funds, with the firm creating the first gold stock fund (INIVX) in 1968 and the now-popular first gold miners exchange-traded fund (GDX) in 2006.

Despite their emphasis on gold, Van Eck has never shied away from exploring Bitcoin. The company currently offers Bitcoin exchange-traded products to institutional investors and has previously applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The firm also recently released a report arguing that institutional investors should consider investing in Bitcoin.

Perhaps, given the regulatory hurdles Van Eck encountered with his last Bitcoin ETF investment, this latest research may be aimed more at alleviating the SEC’s concerns than those of investors, who have thus far shown extraordinary interest in Bitcoin-backed securities.