Gold Plummets, Bitcoin Outperforms by 20 Percent: Sign of Major Global Asset Rotation?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Global financial markets remain shrouded in high uncertainty amid escalating conflict in the Middle East and pressures from global monetary policies. In such conditions, an intriguing phenomenon has emerged where gold prices have experienced a sharp correction, while Bitcoin (BTC) has demonstrated relatively stronger resilience. Tensions between the United States, Israel, and Iran since late February 2026, which have also disrupted the Strait of Hormuz—a route for about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply—have heightened global market volatility. On the other hand, the hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve has strengthened the US dollar and driven up bond yields. Amid these conditions, gold has faced significant pressure. In the last 24 hours, gold has fallen by more than 2.5 percent and recorded a weekly decline of around 5 percent. Indeed, this precious metal has marked its deepest correction since 1983 on 23 March. Currently, gold is trading around $4,431 per troy ounce, after rebounding to about $4,590 on 25 March this year. In stark contrast, Bitcoin has shown more stable performance. The cryptocurrency is currently at around $69,000 and has only corrected by about 1.7 percent in the past week. Since the conflict began in late February, BTC’s performance has even outperformed gold by around 20 percent. Reku analyst Fahmi Almuttaqin views this performance difference not merely as a short-term anomaly, but as reflecting a structural change in global investor preferences. “Gold’s deep correction is actually triggered by structural factors: dollar strengthening and the potential continuation of rising yields that erode the appeal of non-yielding assets,” Fahmi stated in a press release on Friday (27/3/2026). Although Bitcoin is also under that pressure, its borderless characteristics and algorithmically limited supply could begin to fill the gap left by gold in the eyes of institutional investors. He added that this dynamic also highlights the potential of Ethereum, especially after the launch of Ethereum-based ETF products offering staking yields. “This situation also highlights Ethereum’s potential, particularly following the launch of BlackRock’s ETHB ETF product offering staking yields to US capital market investors,” he explained. The company has increased its Bitcoin holdings more aggressively this year compared to previous years. During the 2022 bear market, Strategy added an average of 156 BTC per week. That figure surged to 4,920 BTC per week in 2024, 4,336 BTC per week in 2025, and now 7,649 BTC per week in 2026 YTD (as of 23 March). This means Strategy is accumulating Bitcoin 49 times more aggressively than during the last bear market period, despite much higher prices.