Safe-Haven Assets: Bitcoin as New Digital Gold Amid Shaky Markets

“It’s not just a technology play anymore; it’s becoming the digital version of a monetary safe-haven.”  

-Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy  

BTC: Undoubtedly one of the best ROI’s in history  

Saylor and Microstrategy’s “risky investment”  

It’s kind of funny to watch other billionaires on a live stage eat their own words. Saylor has taken a lot of criticism from mainstream investors for his investment strategy approach, Bitcoin-forward. However, when you take a look back and view the numbers — he was right.  

Whatever your opinions are of Michael Saylor, it does not truly matter. His success and early adoption as a massive investor in Bitcoin should be noted. Originally, Saylor invested a heavy sum of $250 million worth of Bitcoin in 2020, approximately 21,454 BTC. Fast forward only a short 5 years, and Microstrategy has now accumulated 423,650 Bitcoin. 423,650. Let that sink in. It’s valued at $42 Billion roughly.  

This by far makes them the largest corporate holder of BTC. Assuming that this trend will follow, which is highly likely, in 10 years, we have no clue not only how much Microstrategy will own but also what the price of Bitcoin will be.  

The New Safe-Haven  

There was a quiet banking crisis in March 2023, we say quiet because it has been often overlooked. Silicon Valley banks and Signature Bank collapsed like it was nothing. During this time, Bitcoin rallied 20%; meanwhile, other markets were crashing, reflecting the historical role that gold has played during shaky markets.  

Data Diven insights  

Here are some interesting data points:  

Bitcoin’s correlation with gold has increased to .86 during the 2023 crisis  

Meanwhile, BTC showed a negative -.32 correlation with the S&P 500 high market volatility  

The digital asset inflows in Q1 2024 alone reached $1.21 Billion, and Bitcoin was 72% of it, $871 Million  

Bitcoin’s volume increased 12 X during the banking crisis in 2023  

“Bitcoin has won the race against gold as a store of value for a digital age. It’s like investing in Google early.”  

-Paul Todor Jones, hedge fund manager  

“We’re seeing unprecedented institutional interest in Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class,”  

-Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock  

Massive Institutional Adoption  

Most of the world knows who Larry Fink is by now, as he has gained quite a bit of media attention over the last couple of years. As of Dec 2024, BlackRock had $11.5 T under management. If there is any institutional money that we should be following to get a better picture of what is truly going on from a macro perspective, we should start with BlackRock.  

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF launch in January 2024 is just the beginning of massive institutional adoption of the blockchain. Within the first month of the ETF launching, it accumulated $3 Billion, showing confidence and the validity of smart money stepping in.  

Economic catalysts playing a major role  

There are several factors as to why Bitcoin is starting to become a safety crutch for smart investors. Here are a few:  

Major and persistent inflation concerns. This point more or less explains itself; inflation is not good for the economy, adding uncertainty to markets.  

Geopolitical tensions. The rise in various issues globally, for instance, the straight of Hormuz, is prominent, and the trend does not look as if it is going to slow down.  

Banking sector instabilities. Putting the 2008 financial crisis and the 2023 banking crisis, unique developments continue in the global finance sector. Two prime examples are China’s Small Banking sector mergers in 2024 as well as the African Financial Stability Fund created this year.  

Currency Devaluation Risk. An example of how quickly fiat currencies can lose value is the Turkish Lira depreciating 80% against the USD since 2020. Or that the Argentinian peso and Nigerian naira devalued by 50% and 40%, respectively, in 2023. They aren’t the only emerging countries facing similar pressures. Emerging economies are seeing Bitcoin as an opportunity to tackle this issue.  

“Bitcoin represents the first time in history that individuals have access to a truly sovereign asset that’s immune to government debasement,”  

-Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation  

Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash  

The Future Outlook  

While the fact remains that Bitcoin and crypto remain volatile, it is clear that Bitcoin has developed credibility from smart money, embodied the Lindy effect, and established itself as a safety net, which is strikingly similar to gold.  

As we venture through 2025 onward, this validity and adoption will grow, regardless of critics from all backgrounds. We’ll wrap it up with a quote that is relevant to this subject;  

“Bitcoin becomes more robust, not less, with each passing day it survives. This is the Lindy Effect in action.”