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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is increasingly behaving like a high-volatility, liquid version of gold, according to Bernstein analysts.

What Happened: In a note to clients on Tuesday, the analysts wrote that despite falling roughly 26% amid ongoing tariff disruptions and geopolitical volatility, Bitcoin has performed better than expected in historical context—especially compared to past market shocks like COVID or rate hike cycles, which triggered 50–70% drawdowns.

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The asset’s resilience during recent global market stress signals a shift toward higher-quality capital and growing institutional adoption, making it a “more liquid and higher-volatility version of gold.”

“Bitcoin on a time-scale is probabilistic gold,” the note read. “It trades like the most accessible and liquid risk-market when equities are closed, acting as a weekend signal for investor sentiment.”

Bernstein’s report suggests that while Bitcoin has not fully decoupled from traditional equities—and still correlates with risk-on assets—it is increasingly being treated as a long-term store of value.

The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization now approaches $2 trillion, still a fraction of gold’s $20 trillion market, but it offers greater liquidity and twice the volatility.

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Why It Matters: Institutional adoption is driving this shift.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have collectively seen inflows of around $770 million year-to-date despite recent price declines.

Additionally, large corporate holders such as Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) are investing with longer-term horizons, with BTC now comprising significant portions of balance sheets across publicly traded firms.

“The ETF flows are still in positive territory and reflect higher-quality capital,” the analysts noted, adding that nearly 10% of Bitcoin’s total supply is now held in ETFs and corporate treasuries combined.

While macro headwinds like tariffs on China-based mining hardware could impact Bitcoin mining capacity in the short term, U.S. miners such as Riot (NASDAQ:RIOT), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) and Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) are pivoting to AI infrastructure to diversify revenue streams and withstand geopolitical shocks.