Bitcoin Nears $80K, Analyst Warns a Potential ‘Turning Point’ is Looming

Bitcoin Faces Pressure Amid Market Volatility, Gold Remains the Safe Haven of Choice

Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a significant downturn, losing over 5% since President Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday, which sent shockwaves through global markets. Once hailed as “digital gold,” Bitcoin has failed to live up to its store-of-value narrative during this period of market stress.

Despite the downturn, some analysts are holding onto hope. “This moment feels like a turning point,” said Joel Kruger, a market strategist at LMAX Group. “We see market participants increasingly drawn to Bitcoin’s appeal as a store-of-value asset and diversification tool in times of uncertainty.” Kruger pointed out that even as traditional markets, including the Nasdaq and S&P 500, have dropped to new 2025 lows, Bitcoin is holding above its year-to-date low of $75,000, which some technical analysts view as a sign of strength.

However, skepticism remains. Javier Rodriguez Alarcon, chief commercial officer at XBTO and a former Goldman Sachs executive, argued that Bitcoin’s correlation with broader risk markets in times of volatility weakens its “digital gold” narrative. “Despite talk that Bitcoin could act as a hedge against dollar-centric volatility, in practice, we’re still seeing a strong correlation between digital assets and traditional risk markets during uncertain times,” Alarcon said.

In contrast, traditional assets like gold continue to outperform. JPMorgan analysts reaffirmed their stance that gold remains the top beneficiary in the current economic climate. “Bitcoin’s volatility and its correlation with equities raise serious doubts about its ‘digital gold’ narrative,” noted Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and his team at JPMorgan. They pointed to gold’s steady climb as the go-to asset amid the ongoing debasement of currencies, suggesting that Bitcoin still has much to prove in the safe haven arena.

Despite Bitcoin’s pullback, its price remains above JPMorgan’s estimated production cost of $62,000, which has served as a lower boundary in the past. Meanwhile, gold has only dipped 1.25% to $3,126 per ounce, still hovering near its record high of around $3,200.

With traditional assets like gold continuing to be the preferred safe haven in times of crisis, Bitcoin’s volatility and strong correlation with equities cast doubt on its role as a non-correlated asset in moments of economic uncertainty.