Bitcoin Decouples from Stocks: Correlation with Gold Hits Nearly Six-Year High

As Bitcoin’s correlation with gold hits its highest level in nearly six years while decoupling from stocks, the question of whether this outlook is permanent has come to the forefront.

At the end of August, the Bitcoin-gold correlation reached its highest level since 2020 in a metric showing that the two assets have moved in a similar direction over the last 90 days. During the same period, Bitcoin decoupled significantly from U.S. stocks. However, similar past examples suggest that this divergence may not last long.

According to Bitwise data, following a sell-off wave in long-term U.S. bonds, Bitcoin surged 22.4 percent in one week. While gold gained about 5 percent, stocks declined. This picture showed that investors are evaluating Bitcoin and gold in a closer group in the face of macroeconomic pressures such as currency devaluation and rising bond yields.

Is Bitcoin really decoupling from stocks?

Bitcoin’s 30-day correlation with the S&P 500 also approached zero during the rally in August. While U.S. stock markets remained largely flat, Bitcoin’s rise weakened the view that the cryptocurrency moves only in tandem with tech stocks.

Despite this, Glassnode analysts noted that sudden decouplings seen during periods of bond sell-offs have typically been short-lived in the past. According to analysts, these movements may indicate temporary periods where the current wave is beginning to fatigue, rather than a permanent market shift.

After surpassing the $80,000 level at the end of August, Bitcoin pulled back and traded at approximately $77,600. Glassnode data revealed that there is a supply zone where long-term investors are concentrated in the $83,000-$86,000 range, while the $62,000-$65,000 range is a primary accumulation zone.