Bitcoin’s correlation with one of the oldest and arguably the safest investment instruments, gold, has risen to a five-month peak, according to data from IntoTheBlock.

At the same time, Ethereum’s numbers point to precisely the opposite, even though ETH is supposed to be ultra-sound money following some of its updates in the past few years.

BTC, Gold Correlation Rises

Due to many of the similarities between the two, such as limited supply and lack of central authority behind them, gold and bitcoin have been frequently compared, albeit mostly by supporters of the digital asset. In fact, they even argue that BTC has one up on the precious metal due to its existence in the digital world and its known hard supply of 21 million ever to exist.

However, bitcoin is a newer asset with less history, a smaller market cap, and a highly volatile nature. This has been the most vocal criticism of BTC doubters, such as Peter Schiff. Their performances tend to deviate in certain times but should follow a similar trajectory in times of economic uncertainty, wars, etc.

Data from IntoTheBlock shows that this has been the case on a few occasions this year. At first, both went toward uncharted territory simultaneously in March and April but parted ways in May and July. However, the trend has been on a positive uptake since the summer and reached a peak of 0.75 yesterday, which is the highest level since April.

Bitcoin’s correlation with gold has been on a rising trend, now reaching its highest level since March.

In contrast, $ETH‘s correlation with gold remains minimal and largely insignificant.

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin’s rising correlation over the past months aligns with… pic.twitter.com/fGstlFiAT6

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) September 24, 2024

CryptoPotato recently compared the two asset’s YTD performances, concluding that BTC has done a lot better, even though it is far from its all-time high (registered in March), while the precious metal keeps charting new peaks. The latest came earlier today at $2,670/oz.

Ethereum, Gold on a Different Path

ITB’s post highlighted that while investors’ behavior highlights “bitcoin’s evolving role in macroeconomic hedging,” the same cannot be said about the second-largest cryptocurrency.

“Ethereum’s limited correlation with gold points to its position as a more speculative, growth-driven asset. Its price movements are less influenced by external economic factors and more driven by the underlying ecosystem, such as DeFi activity & staking.”

While this casts doubt over the ultra-sound money narrative for ETH, it just shows that Ethereum has a different role in the crypto market.