• Bitcoin advocates call it “gold 2.0” due to its scarcity feature.

• But gold traditionalists have rejected such claims.

• However, recent trends suggest a role reversal.

While gold has been hailed as a store of value for decades, Bitcoin (BTC) believers argue even the cryptocurrency is one similar asset and often dub it “gold 2.0.”

Similar to gold, Bitcoin is scarce and has a limited supply of 21 million coins. Bitcoiners argue it offers a hedge against inflation and dollar debasement just like gold.

Related: Cathie Wood sends blunt message on 1971 gold standard reset

But traditionalists have dismissed Bitcoin’s “gold 2.0” narrative, and they couldn’t be dismissed because while Bitcoin fell more than 25% from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 this year, gold rose more than 20% during the same period.

But the trend reversed after the war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran began on Feb. 28. Since then, gold’s price has dropped more than 15% to $4,407.37 per ounce, but Bitcoin’s price has risen around 10% to $69,350.73 at press time.

This is exactly what senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas recently highlighted on a show.

• Gold giant hands out $10 on St. Patrick’s Day

• Bitcoin recovers as gold and oil surge on war fears

• Veteran analyst says Bitcoin ‘spanked’ gold

On March 23, he appeared on the “Bloomberg ETF IQ” show and said a lot of people were dumping on Bitcoin 2-3 months for not acting like a safe haven store of value, in contrast to gold.

“Well, the roles have been reversed.”

Issued by State Street Investment Management, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) is a top exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of one-tenth of a troy ounce of gold.

The fund is one of the largest gold holders in the world. But it saw an outflow of $2.20 billion last week (March 16-20).

Though ETFs linked to Bitcoin are much smaller in value, the total net inflow last week remained positive at $95 million.

On March 24, Balchunas wrote on X that Bitcoin ETFs have seen a total net inflow of $2.5 billion this month and could soon dig out of its “flow hole” this year. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (Nasdaq: IBIT) is already among the top 2% ETFs in YTD flows, he highlighted.

When gold fell 40% around 10 years ago, one-third of the investors retreated and this is normal, but Bitcoin flow is just “abnormal” amid the 40% drop in six months, Balchunas concluded.

Related: Morgan Stanley-backed crypto stock gets 86% upside rating

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.