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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovered near $65,000 on Thursday as strategists took stock of the divergence between the token and gold (GC=F).
Despite a sharp drawdown in late January, bullion has climbed 16% year to date, building on a historic 65% rally in 2025.
Meanwhile, bitcoin clocked its fourth consecutive month of losses in January and is currently down 22% since the start of the year.
“A lot of folks, I think, are frustrated by the disconnect between bitcoin and gold,” Fundstrat head of digital assets Sean Farrell said in a client video.
“But it’s important to remember that while bitcoin does have a store of value thesis that I think is strong and over the long term should play out, it still trades very similar to a higher beta growth-oriented asset,” he said.
Farrell pointed out that bitcoin is about 17 years old, whereas gold has existed for thousands of years. He also said he believes gold’s performance is linked to global trade flows, a multipolar geopolitical landscape, and price-insensitive buyers in the form of central banks.
Read more: How to navigate a crypto meltdown
The divergence between bitcoin and gold’s performance “suggests that Bitcoin is no longer acting as ‘digital gold,'” Deutsche Bank research analyst Marion Laboure said in a recent note.
The analyst pointed to billions of dollars in outflows from institutional exchange-traded funds since the token’s October 2025 downturn.
“This steady selling in our view signals that traditional investors are losing interest, and overall pessimism about crypto is growing,” Laboure said.
Bitcoin is down roughly 45% from its all-time high north of $126,000 in October, when forced liquidations and heavy selling by large holders triggered a so-called crypto winter.
Selling intensified earlier this month as the token fell just below $61,000 and posted its worst daily drop since November 2022.
Ether (ETH) also hovered below $2,000 on Thursday, extending its year-to-date losses to about 30%.
On Thursday, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick cut his year-end price targets, lowering ether to $4,000 from $7,500 and bitcoin to $100,000 from $150,000
He added that bitcoin prices could fall to just below $50,000 before rebounding.
Kendrick noted that the market currently expects no further Federal Reserve rate cuts until Kevin Warsh takes over as chair in June. “Against this backdrop, we think ETF holders are more likely to sell rather than buy the dip, for now,” he said.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.