Bitcoin’s long-held narrative as “digital gold” is being tested as its recent price action increasingly resembles that of a high-risk growth asset rather than a traditional safe haven, according to new research from Grayscale.
The report’s author, Zach Pandl, said Tuesday that while Grayscale still considers Bitcoin (BTC) as a long-term store of value due to its fixed supply and independence from central banking authorities, recent market behavior suggests otherwise.
“Bitcoin’s short-term price movements have not been closely correlated with gold or other precious metals,” Pandl wrote, pointing to record price increases for both bullion and silver.
Instead, the analysis found that Bitcoin has developed a strong correlation with software stocks, particularly since the start of 2024. This sector has recently been under intense selling pressure due to fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt or render obsolete many software services.
The report suggests that Bitcoin’s increasing sensitivity to stocks and growth assets reflects its deeper integration into traditional financial markets, driven in part by institutional participation, exchange-traded fund activity, and changing macroeconomic risk sentiment.
The move comes as Bitcoin has seen a roughly 50% decline from its October high above $126,000. The decline took place in several wavesstarting with a history October 2025 Clearance Eventfollowed by a resumption of sales in late November and again in late January 2026. Grayscale also highlighted “motivated U.S. sellers” in recent weeks, citing persistent price reductions on Coinbase.
Related: The Crypto Investing Handbook for 2026: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets
Part of Bitcoin’s continued evolution
According to Grayscale, Bitcoin’s recent failure to live up to its safe-haven narrative should not be seen as a setback but rather part of the asset’s continued evolution.
Pandl said it would have been unrealistic to expect Bitcoin to replace gold as a monetary asset in such a short time.
“Gold has been used as money for thousands of years and served as the backbone of the international monetary system until the early 1970s,” Pandl wrote.
Although Bitcoin’s inability to achieve similar monetary status is “at the heart of the investment thesis,” he said, it could move in that direction over time as the global economy becomes increasingly digitized through artificial intelligence, autonomous agents and tokenized financial markets.
In the short term, Bitcoin’s recovery could depend on new capital entering the market, either through renewed inflows of ETFs or the return of retail investors. Market maker Wintermute said Retail participation has recently focused on AI-related stocks and growth stories, limiting near-term demand for crypto assets.
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