Table of Contents
ToggleThe allure of traditional safe-haven assets appears to be fading, while the market structure of cryptocurrencies is becoming increasingly robust. According to a recent report from Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan, Bitcoin (BTC) has demonstrated greater resilience than traditional safe-haven assets, as gold and silver have come under pressure due to capital outflows and deteriorating liquidity.
A team of analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou clearly stated in a report on Wednesday:
"The deterioration in gold's liquidity has caused its market breadth to fall below the current level of Bitcoin."
Bitcoin exhibits high beta-like asset characteristics
Amid geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the outbreak of war in the Middle East (Iran) and international oil prices soaring above $100 per barrel, Bitcoin has performed relatively steadily in recent weeks. Although in the early stages of the crisis, Bitcoin suffered a sharp decline along with other risky assets, briefly falling to a low of around $60,000, triggering large-scale liquidations as investors rushed to de-risk.
However, this sell-off was quite short-lived. Bitcoin prices quickly stabilized between the highs of $60,000 and lows of $70,000, even as geopolitical tensions persisted. Analysts point out that this price behavior indicates that during the initial shock of the crisis, Bitcoin did not exhibit the characteristics of a pure "safe-haven asset," but rather resembled a high-beta macro asset—it initially faced a sell-off, but quickly found strong support as panic subsided, long-term holders entered the market, and funds flowed back in.
Gold and silver were sold off, resulting in a loss of 11 billion magnesium in a single month.
In contrast, the precious metals market has recently faced heavy selling pressure. Gold has fallen about 15% so far this month, reversing the crowded rally that surged to a record high of nearly $5,500 in January. Silver, which once touched a high of nearly $120, has also entered a downward trend.
JPMorgan analysts attributed the precious metals sell-off to rising interest rates, a stronger dollar, and widespread profit-taking by both retail and institutional investors. Fund flow data corroborates this: in the first three weeks of March, gold ETFs experienced nearly $11 billion in outflows, and silver ETFs saw their inflows, accumulated since last summer, completely wiped out. In contrast, Bitcoin funds continued to attract net inflows during the same period.
A divergence between liquidity and momentum has eased selling pressure on BTC.
Institutional positioning data also shows a divergent trend. According to CME Group futures open interest data, gold and silver exposure increased sharply in late 2025 and early 2026, but has declined significantly since January as investors have reduced their positions; in contrast, Bitcoin futures positions have remained relatively stable in recent weeks.
In terms of momentum signals, trend-following investors such as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) have significantly reduced their exposure to gold and silver, with indicators falling from overbought territory to below neutral levels, exacerbating the recent price decline. Meanwhile, Bitcoin's momentum is gradually recovering from oversold conditions towards neutral, suggesting that selling pressure may be easing.
The report concludes that gold's liquidity has now fallen behind Bitcoin's, while silver's liquidity has weakened further, and the lack of market depth has amplified the recent sharp price fluctuations.
Related reports
