'Soaring' gold and silver vs. sideways Bitcoin... Will it rebound in the new year?
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- Recently Bitcoin has remained in a 125,000,000~140,000,000 won box range, continuing its sideways trend.
- With precious metals like gold and silver hitting record highs, skepticism toward Bitcoin and hopes for a rebound are at odds.
- Experts say that Bitcoin's role as a store of value and its price can fluctuate depending on changes in the economic environment and investor demand.
- The article was summarized using an artificial intelligence-based language model.
- Due to the nature of the technology, key content in the text may be excluded or different from the facts.
Unlike precious metals that continue to hit record highs, there are mixed forecasts for Bitcoin's price direction in the new year as it moves sideways.
According to Upbit, as of 2:49 p.m., Bitcoin is trading at 128,036,000 won.
After plunging sharply in October–November last year due to short-term liquidity shortages from a temporary U.S. federal government shutdown, it has been trapped in a 125,000,000–140,000,000 won box range. The only time it reached around 140,000,000 won was in early December last year, influenced by the U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate cut. Since then, it has shown a gradual decline and has not broken out of the 120,000,000-won range.
In contrast, gold prices, which compete with Bitcoin as a "store of value," continue to soar. On the London ICE exchange, gold futures hit an all-time high of 4,552.7 dollars per troy ounce on the 26th. After a large correction, they finished last year's trading at 4,357.1 dollars per ounce. Compared with the 2024 closing price (2,653.3 dollars per ounce), this is a 64.21% increase. Silver prices also more than doubled over the past year.
This has revived 'Bitcoin skepticism.' Prominent Bitcoin skeptic, economist Peter Schiff, recently told Bitcoin holders, "A rare opportunity is being given to close positions at a slightly better price before assets fall further."
He also pointed out, "The market recently realized that precious metals are the true hedge against inflation and economic instability," and added, "Bitcoin is failing to serve that role."
There is also no shortage of counterarguments that Bitcoin's price will rebound this year. Crypto analyst James Bull told crypto-focused media Cointelegraph, "Bitcoin fell 8.5% by the end of December 2024, but it rebounded 12.5% over the first five days from January 1 last year," adding, "It could start a full rebound in January next year as in the past four years' pattern."
Some maintain that the macroeconomic environment will keep the Bitcoin market resilient. Jack Fan, head of Grayscale Research, argued, "With growing concerns about rising government debt, widening fiscal deficits, and the decline in fiat currency value, investors are looking beyond traditional assets for new investment outlets," and asserted, "Bitcoin is also perceived as an alternative store of value and its price is being formed by demand."
Han Kyung-woo Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com
