Following Israel's reported missile strike on Iranian nuclear sites on June 14, global markets reacted with caution. Bitcoin, often touted as “digital gold,” showed that it doesn’t always act like gold during a crisis.
1. BTC Down, Gold Up
Bitcoin dropped around 4 % within hours of the news, falling from approximately $105,600 to near $103,000 (source [2]). In contrast, gold surged over 1.5% as investors flocked to traditional safe-haven assets (source [2]).
2. BTC as Risk Asset, Not Hedge
Peter Schiff and several analysts pointed out that during the Israel–Iran escalation, BTC behaved more like a tech stock—falling ~2–4%—while gold and the U.S. dollar strengthened (source [1]).
3. Bitcoin vs. Gold in Real Time
A Wall Street Journal analysis observed that Bitcoin lost about 1.6% to 4% over three days during the crisis, even as gold reached record highs—a sign that Bitcoin has yet to prove itself as a reliable geopolitical hedge (source [3]).
4. ETF Flows Add Nuance
Even amid the sell-off, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows in mid-June, hinting that many investors continued to “buy the dip” instead of retreating entirely (source [4]).
Sources
