Bitcoin’s Rout Reignites The 'Digital Gold' Debate – Here’s What Analysts Are Saying

• BTC extended a four-day loss to more than 15%, versus a 1% decline in gold.
• Peter Schiff said that weakness in technology stocks is “bad news” for Bitcoin, while gold could benefit.
• Spot gold gained as easing tensions in the Middle East and a weaker U.S. dollar helped drive momentum.

Bitcoin (BTC) crashed to near four-month lows on Thursday, as an extended sell-off rattled investors and prompted analysts to reassess the cryptocurrency’s role against traditional safe-haven assets like gold, and reignited the debate: Is BTC really ‘digital gold’?

The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to $61,317 on Thursday, adding to a four-day selloff that has erased over 15% of its value. In comparison, gold has shed around 1% over a similar time frame. On Thursday, however, gold prices were on the rise. 

Schiff Says Tech Sector Sell-Off Is Bad News For Bitcoin

Longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff argues that weakness in technology stocks is “bad news” for Bitcoin, while gold could benefit as investors look for traditional safe-haven assets.

“It looks like the correction in tech stocks has finally begun. That’s bad news for Bitcoin, as the tech rally was its main support. As tech stocks sell off, Bitcoin should crash. Gold will likely head in the opposite direction, as investors rush to buy a true safe-haven asset,” Schiff said in a post on X.

In a separate post on X, Schiff noted that Bitcoin found support near $61,000, but questioned whether the recovery could be sustained.

Technology stocks came under pressure on Wednesday, sending the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) down 1.5%, while shares of Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Amazon (AMZN) closed between 2.5% and 3.5% lower.

Middle East De-Escalation Boost For The Bullion

Meanwhile, spot gold (XAU/USD) gained on Thursday as easing tensions in the Middle East and a weaker U.S. dollar helped stabilise sentiment toward the precious metal.

“A successful diplomatic outcome would allow crude flows to resume and ease inflationary fears. Cooling geopolitical concerns and lower oil prices weighing on ​the greenback could help bullion extend its recovery,” said Nikos Tzabouras, a senior market ​analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com, told Reuters.

According to reports on Thursday, a U.S.-brokered ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon renewed hopes for a broader de-escalation in the Middle East and potential progress in negotiations involving Iran.

At the time of writing, spot gold was up 0.9% at $4,473 an ounce while gold futures for August 2026 deliveries gained 0.7% to $4,497.6 an ounce.

Bitcoin Vs Gold: The Performance Gap Widens

Bitcoin has fallen more than 15% over the past four sessions and is down roughly 29% year to date. In comparison, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF has gained about 1% this year, while gold has significantly outperformed the cryptocurrency during the recent downturn.

BTC And GLD: Retail Remains Divided 

Retail sentiment surrounding BTC remained in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while sentiment for the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral.’

Market chatter around Bitcoin centered on recent selling by the Michael Saylor-backed Strategy. Strategy recently disclosed that it had sold 32 bitcoins, its first sale since December 2022.

Another user simply said, “Gold is gold.”

Read also: Nasdaq, S&P 500, Dow Futures Mixed As Investors Eye Jobs Reports, Iran Tensions: Why AVGO, CRWD, TSM, NVDA, MSTR, BMNR In Focus

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