Investors have been pulling money out of both bitcoin and gold exchange-traded funds over the past two weeks as the so-called debasement trade cools, according to JPMorgan analysts.
Bitcoin ETFs have seen larger outflows compared to gold ETFs, and these outflows appear more consistent with a broad retreat by investors from the debasement trade, potentially in anticipation of an Iran-U.S. deal, rather than with a rotation from bitcoin into gold, the JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report.
The debasement trade refers to investors buying assets such as bitcoin (BTC) and gold as hedges against concerns around geopolitical instability, fiat currency weakness, inflation, and related economic concerns.
The analysts said the same trend is also visible in futures markets, where institutional investors appear to have reduced exposure to both bitcoin and gold over the past two weeks.
Bitcoin futures saw a more significant retreat because bitcoin had become one of the main expressions of that trade since the start of the Iran conflict, the analysts noted.
