Bitcoin Gold prices soared on Wednesday, underscoring its growing resilience to turmoil in the Middle East, while the traditional safe-haven asset lagged.
During the European session, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose to $71,023, up more than 6% in 24 hours, according to CoinDesk. Other major currencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) followed Bitcoin’s footsteps, rising between 4% and 6% respectively.
The CoinDesk 20 index, a broader market gauge, rose more than 5% to 2,025 points.
Tagus Capital said in its daily newsletter: “Bitcoin may now display some defensive characteristics during the crisis, but gold’s pullback highlights that even classic safe-haven assets are not immune to market dynamics, positioning Bitcoin as a more flexible but still high-beta alternative.”
Despite the deepening crisis, Bitcoin prices have recently risen to multi-week highs as Iran blocks oil supplies from the Strait of Hormuz and raises concerns about global energy price inflation. Bitcoin has shown surprising resilience since the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran erupted on Saturday, with its downside capped at around $65,000.
Meanwhile, gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, rose above $5,400 an ounce on Monday and has since fallen to $5,160. Asian stock indexes led by South Korea’s Kospi fell sharply as oil import costs rose.