Bitcoin surged on Wednesday, underscoring its growing resilience in the face of unrest in the Middle East, while gold, a traditional safe haven, lagged.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value hit $71,023 during European hours, up more than 6% on a 24-hour basis, according to CoinDesk data. Other majors such as Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Solana (SOL) followed Bitcoin’s lead, rising 4% to 6%, respectively.
The CoinDesk 20 Index, a broader market gauge, rose more than 5% to 2,025 points.
“Bitcoin may now exhibit some defensive characteristics during times of crisis, but gold’s withdrawal highlights that even classic safe havens are not immune to market dynamics, positioning Bitcoin as a more flexible but still high-beta alternative,” Tagus Capital said in its daily newsletter.
BTC’s latest move to multi-week highs comes even as the crisis has intensified, with Iran blocking oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and raising the specter of energy price inflation around the world. Since the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran erupted on Saturday, bitcoin has been surprisingly resilient, with a decline capped around $65,000.
Meanwhile, gold, a traditional safe haven, peaked above $5,400 an ounce on Monday and has since fallen to $5,160. Asian stock indexes, led by South Korea’s Kospi index, have bled sharply as oil import costs rise.
