Over the past 48 hours, gold volatility has skyrocketed, with the asset gaining several times the market capitalization of BTC and losing several times that of the crypto market. A closer look at this rollercoaster ride.
Gold volatility soars
On Thursday evening, we reported on the cryptocurrency crash, which also impacted the precious metals market. Gold plummeted 8% in less than an hour, after hitting an all-time high (ATH) of around $5,600 the previous night.
Given that the famous yellow metal is currently valued at $35.75 trillion, this makes the volatility of the movements we’ve witnessed in recent days even more surprising, considering we’re talking about the world’s most valuable asset.
Yesterday, we also noted that in a single trading session, gold had gained the equivalent of Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization. On X, The Kobeissi Letter’s account goes even further, noting that this same market cap fell by $3.2 trillion in 55 minutes—more than the entire market cap of cryptocurrencies—before rebounding by $2.3 trillion in a few hours:
Tweet from The Kobeissi Letter
Since this post, gold has fallen by an additional 9.42%, equivalent to approximately $3.576 trillion in market capitalization. Since then, the asset has rebounded to $5,150 per ounce, reflecting a 3.94% decline over 24 hours:
Gold futures prices (hourly data)
With gold and silver setting record highs one after another, precious metals are currently experiencing a speculative bubble. Although the rise is also driven by logical factors—such as macroeconomic uncertainty and the need for protection against currency devaluation—it is important to remain cautious during such periods. And for good reason—high volatility can pose a risk to small investors who might succumb to FOMO.
