Bitcoin's Correlation with Gold Surges to +0.50 in 90 Days, Hits 6-Year High

Bitcoin's 90-day correlation with gold has surged to +0.50, more than doubling from levels seen at the start of 2026 and reaching its highest point since the 2020 pandemic, according to data from Bitwise Asset Management and Bloomberg. The correlation, which measures how closely Bitcoin's price movements track gold's over a 90-day window, now nearly matches the all-time high recorded during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis. Simultaneously, Bitcoin's correlation with the Nasdaq 100 has fallen to approximately 0.30, marking its lowest level in one year. This divergence signals a significant shift in how Bitcoin is behaving relative to traditional asset classes, as investors increasingly view both Bitcoin and gold as scarce hedges against currency debasement and fiscal concerns. The U.S. national debt has reached approximately $40 trillion, adding to long-term fiscal pressures. The correlation surge accelerated after the U.S. Treasury announced on August 19 that it would double its long-dated debt buyback operations from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, a policy shift that has echoed across financial markets. Bitwise Director of Research André Dragosch noted that "when things get serious and macro forces are strong, investors are discriminating less and less between bitcoin and gold as they navigate rising currency debasement risks". However, Glassnode analysts caution that sudden decorrelations during sovereign bond selloffs have historically been "short-lived," suggesting this may mark local exhaustion rather than a structural regime shift.