Gold fell more than 6% on Tuesday, its steepest one-day decline since 2013, a day after touching a record $4,381 an ounce. The selloff erased roughly $2.1 trillion in market value and revived the debate over Bitcoin’s standing as a haven asset.
Summary
- Gold plunged more than 6% on October 20 after hitting a record $4,381 an ounce the previous day.
- The drop was the metal’s steepest one-day fall in 12 years, wiping out about $2.1 trillion in market value.
- Veteran trader Peter Brandt noted the one-day loss equaled 55% of the value of all cryptocurrencies combined.
- Bitcoin traded near $82,000 through the episode, moving with risk assets rather than against them.
The metal had climbed to successive records this month on central bank buying and haven demand, with queues reported outside bullion dealers in several cities. Several banks had warned the rally was stretched before Tuesday’s reversal.
A record, then a reversal
Gold reached $4,381 an ounce on Monday. By Tuesday’s close it had fallen more than 6%, the largest single-day percentage decline since 2013, according to Reuters.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt put the move in crypto terms on X, noting that the one-day decline in gold’s market value — about $2.1 trillion — was equal to 55% of the value of every cryptocurrency in existence.
Bitcoin’s week told a different story
Bitcoin did not behave as a haven during the same window. It traded between roughly $80,800 and $83,500 this week and fell alongside technology shares on Thursday, when the Nasdaq lost 2.6%.
That correlation cuts both ways in the “digital gold” debate. Bitcoin avoided a gold-style capitulation — there was no single-day collapse — but it also failed to attract the haven bid that had driven gold to its record.
The rotation question
Some analysts argue that a portion of gold’s stretched positioning could rotate into Bitcoin if the metal’s momentum stays broken, pointing to renewed ETF inflows earlier this week. Others note that Thursday’s $635.6 million ETF outflow showed crypto remains exposed to the same risk-off flows as equities.
Gold has since stabilized between roughly $4,030 and $4,140 an ounce. Bitcoin held near $81,500 on Friday, leaving both assets in consolidation ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve decision.
