Bitcoin volatility sparks renewed controversy: Can the "digital gold" status hold steady?

Recent weeks’ market volatility has prompted investors to reevaluate Bitcoin’s role as a store of value. Currently, Bitcoin’s price fluctuates around $92,160, with a 24-hour increase of 1.51%, but this seemingly moderate short-term performance masks deeper issues.

Volatility Becomes a Key Point of Contention

Analyst Нейт Джерачи from NovaDius Wealth Management pointed out that during the large-scale sell-off triggered by the tariff crisis in early 2025, Bitcoin, while relatively resilient, experienced a significant decline afterward that far exceeded the stock market. This phenomenon has reignited market doubts about Bitcoin’s stability.

As an asset with only 15-16 years of history, Bitcoin’s volatility remains prominent. Джерачи believes that at this age, it is still too young, and its sharp price swings make it difficult to serve as a true safe-haven asset. From a broader macro perspective, recent downward pressure mainly stems from weakness in tech stocks and the liquidation of high-leverage positions in the crypto market, leading to noticeable outflows from Bitcoin spot ETFs over the past month.

The Overall Crypto Market Lacks Safe-Haven Attributes

It is worth noting that, aside from Bitcoin, most other cryptocurrencies behave more like tech stocks rather than stable hedging tools. This further weakens Bitcoin’s positioning as “digital gold.” Investors initially hoped that cryptocurrencies could offer a defensive quality similar to gold, but market realities show that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are more aligned with the volatility of risk assets.

The existence of this correlation poses a serious challenge to the hypothesis that Bitcoin can be viewed as an independent safe-haven tool.