Gold and Bitcoin (BTC) Experience Similar Highs as BTC Price Briefly Touches a Two-Month High of $68,375

Gold has gone up more than 2% in the past week, reaching a new all-time high fueled by global demand for safe-haven assets and anticipated interest rate cuts from major central banks

The price of gold has reached a new all-time high, fueled by global demand for safe-haven assets and anticipated interest rate cuts from major central banks.

As of Oct. 18, the price of gold has hiked to $2,700 per ounce, according to Trading Economics data. This marks a 2.08% increase in the past week and nearly 5% in the past month.

This surge in demand for gold is driven by several factors, including the ongoing war in the Middle East and the Israeli military’s confirmation on Oct. 17 that they killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, sparking fears of a regional escalation.

Additionally, major central banks' expected interest rate cuts are also contributing to the increased demand for safe-haven assets. The European Central Bank has already cut rates three times this year, bringing the deposit rate down to 3.25%.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) continues to climb, with its price showing a positive trend since Oct. 10. According to crypto.news data, BTC experienced an 11% surge over the past week and briefly touched a two-month high of $68,375 on Oct. 16.

This sustained rise in Bitcoin's price has sparked comparisons to the performance of gold in the macro market, with a noted similarity in their price trends.

Co-founder of crypto asset manager Capriole Investments, Charles Edwards, highlighted this observation in his recent X post, commenting on the lagging nature of Bitcoin trends behind gold.

“As a rough rule of thumb, macro Bitcoin trends are often lagged behind gold by a few months. Looks promising,” noted Edwards.

In recent years, investors have drawn parallels between the price movements of gold and Bitcoin in the market. This comparison stems from the finite supply of both assets and their independence from any national currency.

Both assets provide investors with a "safe-haven" that shields them from the volatility of national currencies. Hence, Bitcoin itself has frequently been likened to “digital gold.”

Now, a real-world assets platform called Swarm Markets has made it possible to mint and trade physical gold on the Bitcoin blockchain through the Ordinals protocol.

On Oct. 17, Swarm Markets announced a partnership with OrdinalsBot to inscribe individual satoshis with unique gold kilobar serial numbers. This will enable gold bars to be traded on Bitcoin's Ordinals protocol.

Through this collaboration, gold will become the first real-world asset (RWA) available on Trio, a marketplace being developed by OrdinalsBot and scheduled to launch by the end of the year.