Gold Gains Safe Haven Appeal While Bitcoin Lags Behind

Gold is enjoying renewed demand as global investors seek safety in uncertain times. According to JPMorgan analysts, the precious metal is seeing strong inflows

Global investors are flocking to gold as a safe haven in uncertain times, leading to strong inflows into both ETFs and futures markets, according to JPMorgan analysts.

The analysis, conducted by a team led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou and shared with The Block, highlights how gold is performing like other traditional safe-haven assets, such as the Swiss franc and Japanese yen.

“Gold continues to attract capital despite weak liquidity and market breadth,” the analysts stated.

In contrast, Bitcoin is lagging behind and now shows signs of losing trust among both institutional and retail investors.

The report indicates a sharp decline in speculative futures activity and three straight months of outflows from Bitcoin ETFs.

"This contrasts sharply with the strong speculative futures activity and large capital flows into gold in recent months, especially in China and Hong Kong, where the new gold ETFs have seen truly staggering inflows," the JPMorgan analysts add.

Data from the World Gold Council underscores this trend, revealing that global gold ETFs experienced a massive influx of $21.1 billion during Q1 2025.

Among these inflows, a significant portion, $2.3 billion, originated from ETFs in China and Hong Kong.

This contribution represents 16% of local gold ETF AUM, a percentage far exceeding the global average of 6%. As JPMorgan analysts highlight, this disparity showcases a more pronounced demand for gold within Asian markets.