JPMorgan Says Unwinding Bitcoin ETF Hedges Could Give It an Edge Over Gold

Bitcoin could receive a stronger tailwind than gold if investors begin dismantling the defensive positions they have built up in exchange-traded funds tied to the cryptocurrency, according to a new analysis from JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM).

The report, published Wednesday and led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the bank's global head of research, argues that the unusually heavy hedging activity surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs - particularly BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) - represents a reservoir of potential buying pressure that gold's primary ETF simply does not have.

Both asset classes saw renewed inflows after the Federal Reserve's late-July policy meeting as investors revived the so-called debasement trade, a strategy of buying scarce assets to protect against currency devaluation, rising public debt, and inflation. But that momentum has cooled over the past week. Real bond yields, which account for inflation expectations, moved higher, and the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act, a bill that would have established a regulatory framework for digital asset markets.

The recovery in gold ETF demand has been notably stronger than in Bitcoin products. Gold ETFs have fully replenished the capital that fled earlier in 2026, while Bitcoin ETFs have clawed back only about half of their prior outflows, according to the bank's research. Weekly data from SoSoValue paint a similarly uneven picture: Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of roughly $4.23 billion between July 31 and September 4, but that stretch included two significant outflow weeks. Demand weakened further in September, with net outflows of $462.73 million for the week ended September 11 and $586.27 million in the most recent reading.