The price of bitcoin slipped by around 1% over the past 24 hours, trading near the $88,000 (£63,690) mark, as markets digested the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady at Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Read more: London rises as traders digest mixed US earnings and Fed rate hold
The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation (BTC-USD) has been trending lower since hitting a local peak of roughly $97,000 on 15 January, with recent weakness coming amid a broader rotation by investors into traditional safe-haven assets.
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Gold (GC=F) climbed to a fresh all-time high on Thursday, trading just shy of $5,600 an ounce, while silver (SI=F) pushed toward $120, as investors sought shelter in precious metals amid renewed geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The shift comes alongside a weakening US dollar, which is down 2.13% year to date, reinforcing demand for alternative stores of value.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalisation now stands at $3.07tn, down 1.1% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.
Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, founder of fintech platform Ubuntu Tribe, told Yahoo Finance that investors are increasingly reassessing bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) role in portfolios as macro conditions evolve.
“As the financial landscape evolves, investors are increasingly pivoting from bitcoin (BTC-USD) to gold (GC=F), and for good reason,” Toure said.
“Gold has demonstrated exceptional resilience and consistent growth, especially in a challenging market environment. While bitcoin struggled to fulfill its growth promises last year, gold achieved a remarkable 72% gain in 2025, surpassing the $5,000 per ounce milestone.”
Read more: Gold price pushes over $5,500 amid weak dollar
Toure said the shift reflects deeper structural trends rather than short-term market reactions, pointing to sustained central bank demand for physical gold (GC=F).
“Central banks have systematically accumulated over 1,000 tons of gold annually in recent years,” he said. “Gold’s volatility is three to three-and-a-half times lower than bitcoin’s, offering reassurance for investors seeking stability.”
Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) move lower follows the US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to hold interest rates steady, keeping the benchmark federal funds rate within a 3.5%-3.75% range after delivering three consecutive quarter-point cuts as signs of weakness emerged in the labour market.
Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at Sygnum Bank, said the meeting confirmed a holding pattern rather than signalling a meaningful policy shift.
