Gold Nearly Matches Bitcoin’s Market Cap in a Day

Bitcoin traded lower on Wednesday as gold advanced, lifting bullion sentiment and underscoring a widening divergence between precious metals and top cryptocurrencies. Gold surged past the $5,500 mark to a fresh record, pushing its market capitalization higher to roughly $38.77 trillion as some measures suggested the day’s gains approached the scale of Bitcoin’s own market footprint. Silver followed suit, rallying about 21.5% over the prior week to a valuation near $6.6 trillion, a move that widened its lead over Nvidia, the technology bellwether often cited as a proxy for market breadth.
The precious metals rally has been tied to a broad “debasement trade” thesis, with investors watching central-bank stimuli and fiscal expansion as drivers for hard assets. In contrast, Bitcoin has faced renewed headwinds since a crypto market crash in October that liquidated roughly $19 billion in positions, weighing on price performance in the near term. The narrative around Bitcoin’s role as a safe-haven asset has persisted, but the price action in the last several months has shown a more nuanced relationship with gold as macro dynamics evolve. The latest market moves come as investors weigh whether Bitcoin can sustain a rebound while traditional stores of value hold firm.
Before the October sell-off, sentiment had leaned toward the idea that Bitcoin and gold could function as countercyclical hedges during periods of fiscal irresponsibility and monetary expansion. That view has since been tested by a series of risk-off episodes that complicated the narrative for both assets. The five-year timeframe, in particular, highlights a notable performance gap: gold has risen about 173% over that span, while Bitcoin has climbed roughly 164%. This relative outperformance of gold over the medium term has shaped how investors view the “store of value” thesis for the crypto asset, even as many participants remain convinced of Bitcoin’s long-run potential.
Bitcoin could be undervalued, institutional investors say
In a development that injects a note of optimism into a cautious environment, a Coinbase survey released earlier this week found that 71% of 75 institutional investors believe Bitcoin is undervalued when priced in a range of roughly $85,000 to $95,000. The study also revealed a resilient commitment among institutions: about 80% indicated they would hold or add to their crypto positions in response to a hypothetical 10% decline in the broader crypto market, signaling conviction about Bitcoin’s longer-term role in diversified portfolios. The Coinbase data underscores a divergence between near-term price volatility and longer-term strategy among large players, suggesting that institutions continue to map an exposure path into an asset class they see as asymmetrically rewarding over time.
Bitcoin, gold sentiment on opposite ends of spectrum

The sentiment landscape around Bitcoin and gold has grown increasingly bifurcated. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which aggregates sentiment across the crypto market, sits at 26 out of 100 in the “Fear” zone, illustrating cautious positioning amid recent volatility. By contrast, sentiment around gold remains sharply positive, with the Fear & Greed Index for gold tracked by JM Bullion sitting at 99 out of 100, in the “Extreme Greed” territory. The divergence underlines how different risk premia and macro expectations are shaping flows into traditional safe-haven assets versus digital assets.
Source: JM Bullion
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