Gold prices have topped $5,000 amid rising geopolitical and global trade tensions, while Bitcoin has fallen toward $86,000 as the divergence between the two assets widened.
Gold surged to a record high of $5,080 on Monday following a 17% gain so far this year, according to Gold Price, with traders flocking to the precious metal amid fears of a potential US government shutdown and uncertainty over the Trump administration’s escalated tariff threats.
“A likely government shutdown just added fuel to the fire for precious metals,” the Kobeissi Letter said on Monday.
Trade tensions have also increased with another weekend round of tariff threats as US President Donald Trump threatened Canada with a 100% tariff over a China trade deal.
Gold beat Ether (ETH) to the $5,000 milestone, closing out a Polymarket bet placed in early October on which asset would reach it first. ETH prices tanked below $2,800 on Sunday and are now more than 40% down from their August all-time high of $4,946.
Silver has also surged above $107 per ounce for the first time in history and is up 48% so far in 2026.
Bitcoin and gold correlation crumbles
Bitcoin (BTC) has lost 1.6% on the day, erasing all the gains it made so far this year as it fell to a five-week low just below $86,000 on Coinbase late on Sunday, according to TradingView.
Bitcoin is now 30% below its October peak of $126,000 as the divergence between the digital asset and gold continues to expand.
Related: Bitcoin sells off into weekly close as bulls face $86K BTC price reckoning
Investors more interested in gold than treasuries
Gold is rallying, and cryptocurrencies are down because of the increasing likelihood that the US government will face a shutdown at the end of the month, says Jeff Mei, chief operations officer at the BTSE exchange.
“Additionally, markets are pricing in the likelihood that the Fed will maintain current interest rate levels, given that the economy has been showing stronger growth and employment numbers,” Mei told Cointelegraph.
“Normally, in uncertain times, capital moves towards safe-haven assets such as US Treasuries and gold, but because of the potential government shutdown and Trump’s recent tariff threats over Greenland, global investors are less inclined towards Treasuries and more towards gold,” he added.
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