Why are gold and bitcoin rising together?

In the first six months of 2026, gold and bitcoin were the worst performing investments in a balanced portfolio. Since the start of the summer, they have been the best. Bitcoin has risen from $60,000 to $80,000 since July. Last week alone it jumped by 20%. Gold, meanwhile, has risen by 15% in August.

This is odd. Gold is the archetypal safe haven. Bitcoin is a high-octane speculative asset. So why are they suddenly moving together?

They are very different assets, albeit with some shared characteristics, but recently they have both been responding in the same way to the same underlying anxiety - an erosion of confidence in US policy making and the twin pillars of the global financial system, the dollar and US Treasury bonds.

Both remain well off their recent highs, so part of this is just recovery from a weak second quarter. But their performance is in stark contrast to a summer of drift for shares and bonds. There is more to this than a rebound.

The issues underpinning this latest flight to alternative investments are not new: the fiscal trajectory of the US and other developed economies, the uncontrolled deficits, an unwillingness to cut spending or pay for it with higher taxes, have been around for years.