Bitcoin's 'digital gold' claim tested as precious metals soar

As risk-off sentiment intensifies across markets, gold has been hitting successive all-time highs while Bitcoin, often touted as "digital gold," is struggling to defend key price support levels. According to an analysis by Coindesk, gold has surged 70% this year, silver has jumped 150%, and platinum has also set new records. In contrast, Bitcoin is weighed down by significant profit-taking. The media outlet suggests that increased bond yield volatility and sharp U.S. dollar fluctuations have strengthened risk aversion, benefiting traditional assets like gold over cryptocurrencies. Coindesk emphasized that if Bitcoin were truly digital gold, it should be proving its value in the current market but has failed to do so, indicating it tends to perform well only in environments with accommodative monetary policy and strong risk-on sentiment. Separately, David Miller, Chief Investment Officer at Catalyst Funds, stated that Bitcoin is nevertheless a worthy long-term portfolio addition as a hedge against fiscal expansion and currency devaluation. However, he noted that it plays a different role than gold, which central banks hold as a reserve asset. Miller argued that Bitcoin cannot replace fiat as a reserve asset, a function gold can serve, characterizing BTC as a retail-investor-driven asset while gold is thoroughly institution-focused.