Bitcoin fell nearly 1% in the past 24 hours, trading near the $88,000 (£63,690) mark, as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady at Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Read more: London rose as traders digested mixed US earnings and the Fed’s rate hold
The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization (BTC-USD) has been trending lower since hitting a local peak of around $97,000 on Jan. 15, amid a broad shift by investors to traditional safe-haven assets.
Read more: Crypto live prices
Gold (GC=F) climbed to a fresh all-time high on Thursday, trading just above $5,600 an ounce, while silver (SI=F) pushed towards $120, as investors sought refuge in precious metals amid renewed geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The change comes alongside a weaker US dollar, which is down 2.13% year to date, strengthening demand for alternative stores of value.
Total cryptocurrency market capitalization now stands at $3.07 trillion, down 1.1% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Mamadou Quidjim Toure, founder of fintech platform Ubuntu Tribe, told Yahoo Finance that investors are reassessing the role of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) in portfolios as macro conditions evolve.
“As the financial landscape evolves, investors are increasingly shifting from bitcoin (BTC-USD) to gold (GC=F), and for good reason,” Toure said.
“Gold has shown extraordinary resilience and consistent growth, especially in a challenging market environment. While Bitcoin struggled to meet its growth promises last year, gold achieved a remarkable 72% increase, surpassing the $5,000 per ounce milestone in 2025.”
Read more: Gold prices pushed to $5,500 amid weaker dollar
Touré said the shift reflected a deeper structural trend rather than a short-term market reaction, pointing to sustained central bank demand for physical gold (GC=F).
“Central banks have systematically stockpiled more than 1,000 tons of gold annually in recent years,” he said. “The volatility of gold is three to three and a half times lower than that of bitcoin, which provides reassurance to investors looking for stability.”
Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) move lower follows Wednesday’s decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady, after it delivered three consecutive quarter-point cuts to keep the benchmark federal funds rate within the 3.5%-3.75% range, showing signs of weakness in the labor market.
Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at Signum Bank, said the meeting confirmed the holding pattern rather than signaling a meaningful policy change.
