Bitcoin (BTC) rose to $81,165 during trading before correcting to $80,792. Over the day, it gained about 4.5%. Notably, gold also hit a price high the same day, a level not seen in over three months. This is not a random coincidence but a systemic shift in investor sentiment.
Both assets are showing impressive momentum for the same reason: a weakening U.S. dollar and falling Treasury yields are pushing capital out of traditional safe-haven instruments into alternatives. Investors are increasingly shifting funds into both the precious metal and digital gold, closely watching signals from the Federal Reserve.
Gold posts its best month in 27 years
On Tuesday, spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,677.19 per ounce. This is the strongest reading since mid-May. Since the start of the month, the precious metal's price has climbed roughly 13%. Gold futures also rose to a three-month high, reaching around $4,720.
This surge is the most powerful for a month since 1999. Back then, a group of European central banks managed to agree on limiting gold sales, halting a prolonged price decline. Today, the drivers are entirely different: investors are reacting to a weak dollar and growing doubts about the Fed's independence, rather than a shortage of the metal from regulators.
Dollar and yields: the main driving forces
Since the start of the month, the U.S. dollar index has fallen 0.8%, making gold cheaper for foreign buyers. Treasury yields stayed elevated for most of August but, due to a buyback program, declined by about 3 basis points over the month. This has somewhat reduced the cost of holding gold, which generates no income.
Bitcoin is moving along the same trajectory. Last week, the cryptocurrency's price failed to hold above $80,000 and pulled back, but then the coin recovered the drop and continued rising. Strive recently stated that bitcoin's reversal relative to gold is a sign the crypto bear market is ending.
In focus today is Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, who will speak at the annual symposium in Jackson Hole. Typically, at this meeting, central bank heads signal future policy. Hawkish rhetoric could stall the rally in gold and bitcoin. Citi analysts note that an unexpectedly dovish signal, on the contrary, would push markets toward so-called "debasement trading" — due to fresh doubts about the Fed's independence and the sustainability of U.S. debt.
Bitcoin's reaction to Fed signals this week is not yet clear: history shows that BTC does not always mirror the moves of traditional safe-haven assets, even when the economy is heading in the same direction. Right now, both markets are pricing in similar risks.
My view: the synchronized rally in gold and bitcoin is not just a coincidence but a marker of fundamental distrust in the fiat system. However, while gold acts as a classic hedge asset, bitcoin adds a high-volatility factor to that. BTC's rise above $81,000 amid a weak dollar confirms that institutional players are increasingly viewing it as a hedge against inflation and monetary risks, not just as a speculative tool.