bitcoin rose on Wednesday, underscoring its growing resistance to turmoil in the Middle East, while gold, a traditional safe haven, lagged.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value rose to $71,023 during European time, an increase of more than 6% in 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk. Other major companies such as ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and solana (SOL) followed bitcoin’s lead, rising between 4% and 6%, respectively.
The CoinDesk 20 index, a broader market indicator, rose more than 5% to 2,025 points.
“Bitcoin may now exhibit some defensive characteristics during crisis periods, but gold’s pullback 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 towards multi-week highs comes even as the crisis has escalated, 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 broke out on Saturday, bitcoin has proven surprisingly resilient, with its decline limited to around $65,000.
Meanwhile, gold, a traditional safe haven, peaked above $5,400 per ounce on Monday and has since declined to $5,160. Asian stock indices, led by South Korea’s Kospi index, have hemorrhaged heavily as oil import costs rise.
