By Eric Lam and Ranjeetha Pakiam One-day swings of 31 per cent. A slump amid a jump in U.S. inflation. Ever more critical regulatory scrutiny. Bitcoin delivered all of these in the past few days, undermining its claimed role as a portfolio hedge rivaling gold. While true believers still tout Bitcoin’s merits as a store of value akin to digital bullion, recent events show how controversial that view is. The largest token has shed 40 per cent after hitting a mid-April record, and its volatility compared with the precious metal jumped during this week’s cryptocurrency rout. “For all of 2020 and pretty much up until April, Bitcoin has been the best performing asset, so it wasn’t hard to say it was an inflationary hedge given all the stimulus that keeps getting pumped into the global economy,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst with Oanda Corp. “This week’s crypto plunge and rebound was a wake-up call. Bitcoin will still act like a leveraged risk-on trade and not a proper inflation hedge.”