Bitcoin Acts Like a Safe Haven Amid Market Turmoil
- The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency diverged from the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 and broad equity markets.
- Bitcoin is finally acting like “digital gold.”
- There’s no guarantee Bitcoin’s resilience will continue.
After behaving like a high-beta tech stock during the early stages of President Donald Trump’s tariff barrage, Bitcoin is finally showing signs of acting like the “digital gold” that many investors hoped it would become.
Last week marked a turning point. While U.S. equities continued their steep descent—exacerbated by escalating trade tensions—Bitcoin held firm. The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency diverged from the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 and broad equity markets, a welcome development for crypto bulls.
Bitcoin Holds March Lows
In March, the price of Bitcoin and ETFs that track it—like the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)—moved in near lockstep with major stock indexes, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ). All three hit local lows in early March, but what happened next was striking.
As stocks plunged again last week—SPY fell roughly 5% on both Thursday and Friday—Bitcoin refused to break below its March lows. IBIT mirrored the initial drop on Thursday with a 5.8% decline but bounced back on Friday, rising 2.5% even as equities cratered.
It was the first meaningful sign in this cycle that Bitcoin might hold up during a broader risk-off environment. That’s a sharp contrast from earlier in the year, when gold surged in response to financial stress while Bitcoin faltered, trailing the yellow metal by a wide margin.
Gold Still Leads in 2025
Even now, the performance gap is stark. Year to date, Bitcoin is down about 11%, while gold is up 15%. But on Friday, the roles reversed—Bitcoin was up, and gold dropped 3%.
To be clear, there’s no guarantee Bitcoin’s resilience will continue if markets continue to fall. But for crypto investors, the past week offered a glimmer of hope that the asset may be finding its footing as a non-correlated, or at least less-correlated, hedge.
Other cryptocurrencies haven’t fared as well. Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap, dropped to its lowest level since 2023 last week. While its decline has shown signs of slowing, it hasn’t yet matched Bitcoin’s relative strength.
Still, in a week of heavy selling, Bitcoin’s stability was notable—and perhaps a sign that institutional interest is beginning to reshape how the asset behaves in turbulent markets.
