While bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and other major cryptocurrencies tumbled in a $19 billion liquidation event on Friday, major gold-backed digital assets bucked the trend amid the precious metal’s rally.
Tokens tied to physical gold, including Paxos’ PAXG and Tether’s XAUT, were among the few to hold their ground, and even edge higher, as broader markets sank.
Bitcoin lost 8.5% of its value in the last 24-hour period, while the broader crypto market plunged 12.75% as measured by the CoinDesk 20 (CD20 ) index. PAXG has meanwhile dropped just 0.23% to $3,998, while XAUT is up 0.2% to $4,010. A troy ounce of gold, which these tokens are backed by, closed near $4,018.
These coins are backed by reserves of the precious metal, offering crypto investors a refuge from volatility that mirrors gold’s historical role in traditional finance. Year-to-date, these tokens are up more than 50% amid gold’s historic rally.
But while gold-backed crypto weathered the crash, there are signs that their underlying asset may be approaching fatigue. Gold has risen for eight consecutive weeks, which according to the World Gold Council’s Markets Monitor pushed the price into “overbought” territory. That’s across daily, weekly and monthly charts, raising the likelihood of a near-term reversal.
“With the “typical” historical overbought extreme – 25% above the 40-week average – seen not far above here at US$4,023/oz. we would then be wary of the rally for this phase of the gold bull trend getting exhausted, opening the door to a consolidation/corrective phase,” the report reads. “Net long positioning remains elevated but is not yet seen at an extreme.”
In the broader crypto market, the path to recovery may now be a slow grind. Liquidity constraints, weekend ETF closures and a cautious return by market makers suggest a protracted bottoming process.
With U.S.–China trade tensions flaring again, the floor might remain elusive.
