Bitcoin’s matches in February saw its risk-adjusted returns, which are significantly weakened according to data from research service-ecoetry.

While last year, Bitcoin’s total return matched Gold has a traditional safe-port-active when adjusted for risk, Bitcoin behaves more like a large stock index.

Risk -adjusted return measures an asset’s profitability over its price fluctuations. A higher relationship suggests strong returns with lower volatility.

After a series of violent pricing fluctuations of late trades of trade war, growing geopolitical tensions and President Trump’s seed confusion over crypto government plans, Bitcoin has been modestly lower so far in 2025. Gold, meanwhile, has increased more than 11% the year before.

“Bitcoin and gold are completely improperly unclear at the moment, on a 20-day moving average of a five-year timeframe, it is negative,” said Coindesk analyst James van Straten. “You can typically see when the context becomes negative, this is normal when Bitcoin is in a bottom that can be seen in early 2023, summer of 2023, summer 2024 and now. BTC tends to catch gold.”

The shift can affect Bitcoin’s appeal to institutional investors who often prioritize assets with favorable risk pay profiles. While Bitcoin’s long-term narrative as “Digital Gold” remains intact, its short-term performance suggests that it may behave more like shares than a safe port active.