Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 2.0% over the past 24 hours, currently trading for US$37,813 (AU$52,682).
Gold has gone the other way.
Bullion prices have climbed another 1.2% since this time yesterday, to US$1,911 per troy ounce.
That’s up from US$1,801 per ounce on 1 February, for a monthly gain of 6%.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has slid from US$38,144 on 1 February, down 1% for the month.
Why is Bitcoin down while gold is up?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has roiled global markets and sent jittery investors seeking haven assets.
When it comes to haven assets, gold has long held the throne for many investors. In more recent years, crypto enthusiasts have touted Bitcoin as a potential digital equivalent to gold.
But Bitcoin is proving it can’t, as yet, live up to that title.
On the subject of gold’s surge, senior resource analyst at MineLife Gavin Wendt said (as quoted by Bloomberg):
Gold has only one trajectory at present, and that’s upward. Already well-supported on the back of inflation and interest-rate uncertainty, the political contagion with Russia has supercharged gold and it looks set to maintain its positive momentum.
Rush Gold CEO Jodi Stanton added (courtesy of Australian Fintech), “This crisis is unfolding with analysts unable to predict what tomorrow will hold, let alone next month. What we do know is that the gold price has rallied again in the wake of a geo-political crisis.”
As for Bitcoin supplanting gold in its haven role, Stanton doesn’t see that happening:
The other thing that is becoming clearer is whether Bitcoin is a hedge in the way that gold is. We’ve always been of the view that gold and Bitcoin serve entirely different functions, and this is being borne out in markets, with Bitcoin correlating to riskier assets like shares and gold showing clear hedging and capital preservation traits in times of turmoil.
With gold prices rising so are ASX 200 gold shares
With gold prices rising again, so too are S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold shares.
While the ASX 200 is up 0.7% in late afternoon trading, the Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is up 3.5%; the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is up 2.4%. And the Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price has gained 2.9% today.
The post Is Bitcoin or gold a better buy for these uncertain times? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?
When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*
Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.
*Returns as of January 12th 2022
More reading
- 5 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend today
- How might the Ukraine crisis impact the Ethereum price?
- Why these 2 cryptos are booming in 2022 as the Bitcoin price wallows
- Newcrest (ASX:NCM) shares rise following Pretivm takeover update
- 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.
from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/ZUc4RwK
Leave a Reply