tl;dr
In a recent Bank of America survey, 58% of fund managers view gold as the best-performing haven in a trade war, leaving Bitcoin with only a 3% preference. Gold is proving its dominance as the crisis asset of choice while Bitcoin struggles to hold its ground. Despite being championed as a hedge again...
Bitcoin's haven status faces a reality check - Survey of Gold vs. Bitcoin during trade wars
In a recent Bank of America survey, 58% of fund managers view gold as the best-performing haven in a trade war, leaving Bitcoin with only a 3% preference. Gold is proving its dominance as the crisis asset of choice while Bitcoin struggles to hold its ground. Despite being championed as a hedge against economic instability, Bitcoin is facing barriers to institutional adoption as a true safe-haven asset, such as short-term volatility. As institutions overwhelmingly choose gold over Bitcoin, the latter's long-term narrative remains intact but gold remains the undisputed king in times of economic turmoil.
BITCOIN’S HAVEN STATUS FACES A REALITY CHECK
Gold is proving its dominance as the crisis asset of choice while Bitcoin struggles to hold its ground. This comes amid rising geopolitical risks, the ballooning US deficit, and uncertainty driving capital flight. Survey of Gold vs. Bitcoin during trade wars. Source: Bank of America.
BARRIERS TO BITCOIN INSTITUTIONAL ADOPTION
Despite its fixed supply and decentralization, Bitcoin’s short-term volatility remains a key barrier to institutional adoption as a true safe-haven asset. While some traders still view Bitcoin as a long-term store of value, it lacks the immediate liquidity and risk-averse appeal that gold provides during crises.
Gold remains the undisputed king in times of economic turmoil
Despite Bitcoin’s struggle to capture institutional safe-haven flows in 2025, its long-term narrative remains intact. Specifically, the global reserve currency system is changing, US debt concerns are mounting, and monetary policies continue to shift. Until then, gold remains the undisputed king in times of economic turmoil. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC exchange-traded funds notwithstanding) fights to prove its place in the next financial paradigm shift.