
In brief
- The stock-to-flow model is a popular price predictor of Bitcoin.
- It was created by Twitter user PlanB
- However, there are a number of vocal critics who believe the model is deeply flawed.
What is stock-to-flow model?
Stock to flow is a forecasting tool for Bitcoin price. It creates a line on the chart above that shows an estimated price level based on the number of bitcoins available in the market relative to the amount being produced (mined) each year. The score on the stock to flow line is the forecasted price for bitcoin at that particular time.
What is stock-to-flow ratio?
Oct 11, 2021 · What is the Stock to Flow model? The stock to flow model is based on the hypothesis that the factor that decides the value of any asset is its scarcity. It functions around the theory of inadequacy, which can help predict the future of any commodity. This model yields the ratio of the stock currently in reserve to its flow.
How do you use stock to flow as money?
Apr 23, 2021 · What is the stock to flow model? The stock-to-flow pricing model was created by anonymous Twitter user PlanB, who claims to be a Dutch institutional investor with a legal and quantitative finance background that manages around $100 billion in assets.
What is stock to flow (S2F)?
Stock to flow is defined as a relationship between production and current stock that is out there. FORMULA SF = \dfrac {stock} {flow} SF = f lowstock The stock-to-flow is the number that we get when we divide the total stock by yearly production (flow).

What is stock 2 flow model?
In fact, the stock-to-flow model assumes that there is a relationship between the amount of a precious metal that is mined each year (flow) and the amount already mined previously (stock). For example, the gold that is mined each year is just under 2% of the gold in circulation (held by central banks and individuals).Jan 2, 2022
What is Bitcoins stock-to-flow model?
To calculate the BTC S2F, you grab the number of existing Bitcoin (Stock) and divide them by the annual flow of production (Flow). The current BTC supply is approximately 19M (which is roughly 90% of the BTC ever to be minted) with an annual flow of 328,500 BTC, according to current block reward size.Mar 23, 2022
What does stock flow mean?
The stock-to-flow ratio compares the existing stock (total amount available) of a commodity to the flow of new production (amount mined during a specific year).
Does Bitcoin follow stock-to-flow?
Bitcoin Stock-to-flow model invalidated as BTC closes 2021 below $100,000. Experts argue that the Stock-to-flow model can no longer be used for serious price prediction. Plan B, the model's creator, has now set a new target for Bitcoin price in 2022.Jan 1, 2022
Can BTC hit 100K?
The most extreme crypto skeptics say Bitcoin will tank to as low as $10,000 in 2022, but a middle ground might be to say the cryptocurrency can still climb to $100,000 like many experts predicted late last year — just on a slower timeline.
How accurate is the Bitcoin stock flow model?
Leaning on the long history of gold suggests that stock-to-flow is not an accurate predictor of price for it. Therefore, it can be argued that stock-to-flow is not a predictor for the value of Bitcoin, either.Oct 19, 2021
Why does stock flow model work?
The stock-to-flow model takes a simpler approach to predicting value changes. It measures the current stock of an asset against the flow of new production or how much is mined in a year. A higher ratio indicates more scarcity, which in turn indicates a higher value.Jul 28, 2021
Why is stock flow important?
The stock-to-flow ratio as the most significant reason for gold's monetary importance. Supply and demand thus determine not only the prices of goods and services, but also the price of money, resp. its purchasing power.
How do you calculate stock flow model?
It has already been said that stock to flow is relationship between total stock against yearly production. In this "10 day" line we take production in ten days, divide it by 10 and then multiply by 365 to get the estimated yearly production and then calculate stock to flow.
Is stock-to-flow accurate?
The popular stock-to-flow model, created by the pseudonymous “PlanB,” has been pretty accurate in predicting Bitcoin prices so far. The brainchild behind the model has stated that the mid-cycle average should be around $100K per BTC.Nov 12, 2021
What will be the price of Bitcoin in 2022?
We bring to you the most important findings of this research. - The estimate of price hike in 2022 is 60% higher than the price of Bitcoin in the beginning of 2022. - The panellists expect Bitcoin to culminate at US $93,717 in 2022 before dropping to $76,360 by the end of 2022.Apr 5, 2022
How much Bitcoin does Michael Saylor own?
17,732 BTCHe currently owns 17,732 BTC, which he bought at an average of $9,882 each.Jan 11, 2022
What is stock to flow model?
One thing to realize here is that the set up for price prediction using stock-to-flow is just a model and is based on a great number of assumptions. There are many ways to model prices of assets, some more common amongst traders and other, more controversial, to a smaller extent. Many analysts and traders have critisized the model due to its simplicity and the fact that it ignores many other factors that influence an asset’s price. In fact, can we actually compare cryptoassets to things like gold and can we actually base price predictions only on scarcity? Many would answer ‘no’ to these questions. Another question that still remains as a topic for discussion amongst investors is what will happen when all of the Bitcoin will be mined? This model can hardly answer that.
What is etoro trading?
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs. Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
How many coins are there in Bitcoin?
Despite being a digital asset, the quantity of Bitcoin is limited to 21 million coins because of the way it has been set up using mathematical limitations. In fact, around 89% of it has already been mined. This percentage changes approximately every 10 minutes as new coins are mined.
What is Stock-to-Flow model?
In simple words, the Stock-to-Flow model is a way to measure the sufficiency of a certain asset. The stock-to-growth ratio is the amount of resources held in reserves divided by its annual production.
What is the Stock-to-Flow ratio of gold?
Historically, gold has the highest Stock-to-Flow ratio of any precious metal. But what exactly does it matter? Let’s go back to our previous example, divide the total stock of 190 000 tons by 3200 and we get a Stock-to-Flow ratio of about 59.
Stock-to-Flow and Bitcoin
If you know how Bitcoin works, then you won’t have a problem understanding what the meaning of the application to its model Stock-to-Flow. In essence, the model looks at Bitcoin compared to scarce commodities like gold or silver.
What is the Stock-to-Flow ratio of Bitcoin?
The current number of bitcoins in circulation is approximately 18 million, while production is approximately 0.7 million per year. At the time of writing this article, the Stock-to-Flow ratio of bitcoins was around 25. After another halving in May 2020, this figure will increase to more than 50.
Limitations of the Stock-to-Flow model
Although the Stock-to-Flow model is of interest for deficit measurement, it does not take into account all parts of the picture. The models are as true as their underlying assumptions. Above all, Stock-to-Flow is based on the assumption that the deficit measured by the model is capable of managing value.
Conclusion
The Stock-to-Flow model defines the relationship between the currently available resource and the rate of production. The model usually applies to precious metals and similar products, but there are also those who claim it applies to Bitcoin.
How long does it take to produce gold?
Take gold for example. It has a stock-to-flow ratio of around 66, meaning it would take 66 years of gold production to produce the current amount of gold stock currently in circulation.
When will Bitcoin hit $1 million?
This increasing scarcity, says the stock-to-flow model is why Bitcoin’s price is expected to hit $1 million sometime in 2025 as it creates upwards pressure on the price. PlanB has subsequently released an updated version of his stock-to-flow model which revises Bitcoin’s growth to around $288,000 by 2021.
Is BNY Mellon valuing Bitcoin?
BNY Mellon has taken on the difficult task of evaluating different methods of valuing Bitcoin in a March investment report, And in doing so, it's spotlighted a controversial model that—if corr...
When was the first Bitcoin block created?
The Bitcoin network has been generating blocks, uninterrupted ever since its inception. The first block (genesis block) was generated on the 3rd of January 2009 and the reward for mining it was 50 bitcoins (BTC).
How many bitcoins did Satoshi Nakamoto mine?
It is estimated that during first year of bitcoin (2009) Satoshi Nakamoto (Bitcoin creator) mined around 1 million Bitcoins and did not move them until today. It can be debated if those coins might be lost or Satoshi is just waiting still to sell them but the fact is that they are not moving at all ever since.
Is Bitcoin deflationary?
From then on, Bitcoin will become truely 'deflationary', since "printing" / "minting" / "mining" new coins will no longer be possible, and if owners keep on losing their private keys, as they currently are, then the supply would further deflate by that lost-keys ratio.
Can Bitcoin be copied?
Bitcoin is the first digital object that cannot be copied, duplicated, pirated or forged. Those are the primary attributes that give its unique value. Bitcoin is the first digitally scarce thing known to mankind, and within its inner workings is a Mathematical mechanism that should make Bitcoin's value continue to rise.
What is stock flow?
The Stock-to-Flow model analyzes the relationship between the currently available stock of resources and its production rate. This model is mainly applied to precious metals and other commodities. But, it can also be applied to Bitcoin as well. According to this model, Bitcoin is an asset that retains its value for the long-term.
Why does the stock to flow model fail?
The stock-to-flow model fails if Bitcoin doesn’t have any other useful qualities other than the supply scarcity. In the case of gold, it’s scarcity, predictable flow, and global liquidity have made it a relatively stable store of value compared to fiat currencies, which are prone to devaluation. Bitcoin is volatile in nature. If this volatility was predictable to some extent, then the valuation model may be more reliable.
What is the digital asset that Satoshi Nakamoto created?
To solve this problem, Satoshi Nakamoto designed a scarce digital asset called Bitcoin. The scarcity of this digital asset is the primary essence behind the stock-to-flow S2F model.
How many coins are in Bitcoin?
Similar to gold and silver, Bitcoin is also scarce, costly to produce, and has a maximum supply of 21 million coins. Bitcoin’s supply issuance makes the flow completely predictable.
What does it mean when Bitcoin is halved?
There is a Bitcoin halvings concept in which the amount of new supply entering the system is halved every 210,000 blocks. It means the Bitcoin scarcity will also increase. Hence, Bitcoin has characteristics to retain its value for the long-term. As the Stock-to-flow ratio decreases, the Bitcoin price will gradually increase.
How much is Bitcoin worth in 2024?
The S2F model predicts that Bitcoin Will likely be worth $288,000 each coin by 2024. This prediction comes after the Bitcoin halvings in 2012 and 2016. The S2F model creator Plan B tweeted the 2019 time series model on historical BTC data only.
Is Bitcoin a scarce resource?
The S2F model considers Bitcoin as a scarce resource similar to gold or silver. As they are scarce, they are referred to as a store of valuable resources. Theoretically, they should retain their value for the long term because of their relative scarcity and low flow.
Why Other Models Are Unideal
Many popular cryptocurrency investment models today come from traditional, often less volatile, markets. Although they may have a history of reliability with more traditional investment types, cryptocurrency is an entirely different beast, largely due to its novelty among other reasons.
What Is the Stock-to-Flow Model?
The stock-to-flow model takes a simpler approach to predicting value changes. It measures the current stock of an asset against the flow of new production or how much is mined in a year.
Where Stock-to-Flow Falls Short
As accurate as the stock-to-flow model has been in the past, it’s still not perfect. In June 2021, Bitcoin’s price lingered around $40,000, which was $60,000 less than what stock-to-flow said it should be. While this is only the second deviation of this size in Bitcoin’s history, it highlights this model’s shortcomings.
How to Invest in Crypto Using the Stock-to-Flow Model
Despite these shortcomings, learning how to use stock-to-flow in crypto investments can yield positive results. As the model’s history has shown, as crypto stock-to-flow ratios rise, so will crypto prices, at least in theory. You can use this relationship to guide your investment decisions.
Final Thoughts: All Crypto Investors Should Understand Stock-to-Flow
Knowing how to use stock-to-flow in crypto can be a helpful investment tool, despite its limitations. As you invest in crypto, you should consider adding this model to the predictive tools you use.

What Is Stock-To-Flow Model?
What Is The Stock-To-Flow Ratio of Gold?
- Historically, gold has the highest Stock-to-Flow ratio of any precious metal. But what exactly does it matter? Let’s go back to our previous example, divide the total stock of 190 000 tons by 3200 and we get a Stock-to-Flow ratio of about 59. This tells us that at the current rate of production it will take about 59 years to cover 190 000 tons of gold reserves. However, we should keep in min…
Stock-To-Flow and Bitcoin
- If you know how Bitcoin works, then you won’t have a problem understanding what the meaning of the application to its model Stock-to-Flow. In essence, the model looks at Bitcoin compared to scarce commodities like gold or silver. Gold and silver are often referred to as a means of saving. They are supposed to retain their value in the long term because of their relative rarity and low g…
What Is The Stock-To-Flow Ratio of Bitcoin?
- The current number of bitcoins in circulation is approximately 18 million, while production is approximately 0.7 million per year. At the time of writing this article, the Stock-to-Flow ratio of bitcoins was around 25. After another halving in May 2020, this figure will increase to more than 50. In the chart below, you can see the historical dependence of the 365-day moving average Sto…
Limitations of The Stock-To-Flow Model
- Although the Stock-to-Flow model is of interest for deficit measurement, it does not take into account all parts of the picture. The models are as true as their underlying assumptions. Above all, Stock-to-Flow is based on the assumption that the deficit measured by the model is capable of managing value. According to Stock-to-Flow critics, the model would be untenable if Bitcoin had …
Conclusion
- The Stock-to-Flow model defines the relationship between the currently available resource and the rate of production. The model usually applies to precious metals and similar products, but there are also those who claim it applies to Bitcoin. In this sense, Bitcoin can be considered a scarce digital resource. According to this method of analysis, the unique nature of Bitcoin mining shoul…