Over the past 48 hours, gold volatility has skyrocketed, as the asset gained several times the equivalent of BTC’s market cap and lost several times the equivalent of the crypto market’s total market cap. A closer look at this roller-coaster ride.
Gold Volatility Soars
On Thursday evening, we reported on the crash in cryptocurrencies, which also had an impact on precious metals. 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 currently has a market capitalization of $35,750 billion, 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 highly capitalized 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 $3,200 billion in 55 minutes—more than the entire market cap of cryptocurrencies—before rebounding by $2,300 billion in just a few hours:
Tweet from The Kobeissi Letter
Since that post, gold has fallen another 9.42%, equivalent to approximately $3,576 billion in market capitalization. Since then, the asset has rebounded to $5,150 per ounce, representing 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.
