Is Bitcoin’s safe haven narrative cracking? Gold’s rise suggests so

Bitcoin has appreciated substantially following Trump’s election win and his administration’s advocacy for the token. However, as much as Bitcoin has grown in value, so has Gold.

The leading crypto has risen over 3% year-to-date, while Gold surged by 9% over the same time period. Gold’s stronger price increase suggests it may be a more reliable safe-haven investment than Bitcoin.

Gold jumped in value after Trump announced his plans for the Gaza Strip

Gold hit a new peak of $2,882 an ounce on February 4. According to data from CompaniesMarketCap, Bitcoin’s market capitalization is 1.910 trillion, ranking it seventh among global assets by market cap. This puts Bitcoin ahead of Saudi Aramco and silver in the rankings, further solidifying its position as a major asset class.

For context, gold retains a dominant lead with a market cap exceeding $19 trillion — greater than the combined market value of tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet.

According to CoinGecko data, the broader cryptocurrency market cap stands at $3.13 trillion, with Bitcoin maintaining dominance at 61% and Ethereum at 9.6%.

Bitcoin is down over 10% from its all-time high and is trading at only $96,718. On the other hand, Gold is worth about $2,886 and has risen by over 0.33% in the last 24 hours.

Analysts have long pictured Bitcoin as an asset similar to Gold due to its issuance limit of $21 million. However, Bitcoin is still closely mirroring tech stocks, while Gold’s appeal continues to increase, especially with the US-China trade war and the looming threat of more tariffs.

Aoifinn Devitt, attorney and senior investment advisor at Moneta Group LLC,  believes that Bitcoin will eventually have distinct characteristics from other assets; however, at the moment, it’s acting as the “riskiest of risk-on assets.”

Gold may rise even further in just a few weeks

According to Citigroup, Gold could reach $3,000 an ounce in just three months, even as countries brace themselves for possible trade wars under President Trump. 

POTUS has already shaken markets with the prospect of tariffs, which many say could impede economic growth and lead to high inflation.

Market analyst Kenny Hu believes investors will continue to grow their reserves in central banks.

Citi expects that a dollar increase will encourage central banks in developing countries, particularly to increase their gold holdings to support their own currencies. Investors are also leaning towards both gold and ETFs.

London investors have started transferring their gold holdings to the US over concerns that bullion will not be exempted from potential tariffs. As of February 5, Premiums suggested a 20% chance that Trump will include gold in a 10% blanket global tariff.

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