During geopolitical and other crises, investors tend to buy assets that can protect their capital from risks. Traditionally, one such asset is considered to be gold. This happened in 2025 after Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States in early January when he began to implement a policy of trade tariffs for different countries.
Initially, many experts believed that against the backdrop of macroeconomic turmoil, Bitcoin would move in tandem with gold. This thesis was particularly promoted during periods of significant growth of the main cryptocurrency. For example, against the explosive growth at the end of 2024, the largest asset management company BlackRock repeatedly noted the hedging properties of Bitcoin during geopolitical tensions and concerns about the state of national debt and the U.S. budget deficit.
However, in 2025, the thesis that Bitcoin serves as a hedging asset was called into question, and gold confirmed itself as a protective asset. Experts began to point this out amid diverging dynamics in the middle of the year.
The yield of gold since the beginning of 2025 at 26% has outpaced Bitcoin and many other asset classes, such as leading U.S. stock indices — NASDAQ and S&P 500. Their quotes have risen by 17% and 12% respectively since the beginning of the year. In 2025, gold is more correlated with the indices than with the main cryptocurrency.