Bitcoin has lost 6.6% of its value since Jan. 18, while gold has risen 8.6% to new highs near $5,000 amid recent geopolitical tensions tied to threats of tariffs over Greenland. That divergence highlights a growing disconnect between bitcoin’s reputation as “digital gold” and how investors actually treat it when markets get nervous. NYDIG’s Global Head of Research, Greg Cipolaro, attributes the difference to liquidity preference: in stressed markets bitcoin is often sold quickly, whereas gold tends to be held.
Bitcoin's Performance During Geopolitical Tensions
The recent sell-off in bitcoin coincided with a bout of market volatility after threats of tariffs and related geopolitical noise, and since Jan. 18 bitcoin has declined by 6.6%. At the same time, gold moved up 8.6% toward highs near $5,000, reflecting a flight into an asset investors were more willing to keep in portfolios. This episode shows that when immediate uncertainty spikes, investors may treat bitcoin as a liquid instrument to raise cash rather than as a reserve asset.
Liquidity and Market Dynamics
Bitcoin’s continuous trading, broad access, and fast settlement make it easy to sell quickly, which can turn it into an “ATM” in times of stress. Gold, by contrast, is less frequently sold under pressure, so it functions as a liquidity sink and retains buying support during short-term shocks. Cipolaro’s analysis emphasizes that in periods where liquidity preference dominates, bitcoin’s greater volatility and reflexive selling hurt its safe-haven claim.
Behavior of Large Holders
Large-holder activity amplifies these dynamics: central banks have been buying gold at record levels, creating steady structural demand for the metal. Meanwhile, long-term bitcoin holders are selling, and on-chain data show older coins moving toward exchanges, contributing to a persistent “seller overhang” that weakens price support. For more on how gold compares to bitcoin as a shelter, see Gold vs bitcoin comparison.
Risk Pricing and Market Perceptions
Markets are currently treating the recent turbulence as episodic—driven by tariffs, policy threats and short-term shocks—so gold remains the preferred hedge for immediate confidence loss and war risk. Bitcoin, according to Cipolaro, is better suited to hedging long-run monetary and geopolitical disorders that unfold over years rather than weeks. As long as investors view current risks as serious but not foundational, gold is likely to keep its edge as the go-to asset for immediate uncertainty.
Why this matters
If you run from one to a thousand mining devices in Russia, this matters because asset behavior determines how easily you can convert holdings to cash when needed. Bitcoin being sold during stress can mean faster price drops and thinner short-term support, which affects the timing and proceeds of any BTC sales you might make. At the same time, strong structural demand for gold and central-bank accumulation explain why gold is acting differently during the same shock.
What to do?
Practical steps for miners facing similar market conditions should be short and actionable. Focus on liquidity planning, risk controls and where you keep your coins rather than trying to time macro moves.
- Maintain a cash buffer: keep enough fiat or stable assets to cover several weeks of operating expenses to avoid forced BTC sales during volatility.
- Stagger any necessary sales: plan exits in tranches instead of one large sale to reduce the impact of short-term price drops.
- Prefer off-exchange storage for longer-term holdings: keep a portion of mined BTC off exchanges to reduce exposure to exchange-driven selling pressure.
- Monitor on-chain flows and large-holder behavior: watch for vintage coins moving to exchanges as a signal of increased selling pressure.
For a broader market review and how bitcoin traded against gold in recent devaluation episodes, you can read this market overview or check prior price dynamics in the 2025 price review to see similar patterns.
