It’s been a happy few weeks for those who hold stocks of gold and bitcoin in their trading arsenals. The commodities have both reached record highs as investors continue to back them.

Gold smashed through the $3,900 (€3,334) a troy ounce barrier this week — a troy ounce being the unit of weight for precious metals and equivalent to 31.1 grams.

Meanwhile, on Sunday (October 5), the world’s oldest and best-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit a record when it broke through the $125,000 barrier for the first time, before falling back a little.

It has so far been a bumper 2025 for both commodities. Gold has been on its biggest rally since the 1970s, with the price jumping by more than 50% since January 1. Bitcoin has had some falls during a turbulent 2025, but its value has risen by around a third since the start of the year.

Why is it happening?

Long seen as a so-called safe-haven asset which investors back during periods of uncertainty, gold has been on a steep upward curve since late 2018, with its value having increased by more than 300% since then.

Uncertainty has been a factor in the current rally, with US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs in April fuelling concerns over the global economy, the sustainability of US government debt levels and the future viability of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

There has also been ongoing geopolitical uncertainty as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza.

Another recent factor has been the US government shutdown. Gold is widely seen by investors as an alternative option to the US dollar, which has fallen sharply in value this year.

Gold has also benefited from a fall in support for the Japanese yen as a safe-haven asset. Japanese stocks surged on Monday after it was confirmed that Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the ruling party LDP, setting her up to be the nation’s first female prime minister. However, the yen continued to fall back.

“Yen weakness on the back of the Japanese LDP elections has left investors with one less safe-haven asset to go to, and gold was able to capitalise,” KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer told news agency Reuters.

The US situation was adding to the attraction of gold. “The enduring US government shutdown means that a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the US economy, and the potential size of any GDP impact,” he added.

However, experts say there is more to gold’s current surge than doubts over the future of the US economy or indeed, the global economy. Several analysts say there has been a rise in demand for gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs), with more and more investors from a wider range of backgrounds seeking to invest.

“The fact that ETF demand has re-entered the scene so forcefully means that there are two forms of ‘aggressor’ bids for gold, from central banks and ETF investors,” wrote Deutsche Bank analysts in a note to clients.

Gold has long been purchased by central banks around the world but the new ETF demand has fuelled the current rally. Recent data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shows that hedge funds now hold record holdings of $73 billion worth of gold.

What about bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s record rally has been largely driven by the reelection of Donald Trump as US President, with his clear and often-stated support for cryptocurrencies helping to increase demand and trust in the sector.

However, there is evidence that more institutional investors are ploughing into bitcoin, similar to the trend seen with gold. The commodity is becoming favored as an alternative to other bets, such as the US dollar. Expected interest rate cuts are also apparently luring investors to take greater risks on the asset.

Bitcoin also appears to be strengthening on the back of uncertainty over the US economy, with the ongoing government shutdown driving up demand.

“The shutdown matters this time around,” Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, wrote in a note to investors.

“This year, bitcoin has traded with ‘US government risks,’ as best shown by its relationship to US Treasury term premium,” he added, referring to the metric which measures the extra yield investors demand in order to hold long-term government bonds — which reflects the extent of their faith in long-term economic stability.

Another factor in bitcoin’s current strength may be related to its annual cycle. October has historically been one of its strongest months, with the price having only fallen twice during the month of October since 2013.

Can the rally continue?

Many observers see gold and bitcoin continuing to rise in value, with new milestone breakthroughs expected.

“I suspect bitcoin will rise throughout the shutdown and will soon reach $135,000,” Geoffrey Kendrick predicted. The fact that the Trump administration is likely to continue pursuing favorable policies for cryptocurrencies adds to the sense of optimism.

As for gold, few see it losing value anytime soon.

“Rallies can continue into 2026 aided by official sector buying; institutional demand for gold as a diversifier can stay robust,” HSBC said in a note to investors on Friday.

The London, UK-based bank said it expected central banks to continue buying gold in large quantities as an ongoing hedge against geopolitical risk.

That chimes with what the World Gold Council said in its last quarterly statement in late July, that its annual central bank survey showed that “95% of reserve managers believe that global central bank gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months.”

That, along with the growing demand around ETFs from hedge funds and other institutional investors, suggests the commodity is likely to breach the $4,000 mark soon. (DW)

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Bitcoin crossed the $120,000 level for the first time on Monday, marking a milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency as investors bet on long-sought policy wins for the industry this week.

Bitcoin scaled a record high of $122,571, before pulling back slightly to last trade 2.4% higher at $121,953.

Later in the day, the US House of Representatives will debate a series of bills to provide the digital asset industry with the nation’s regulatory framework it has long demanded.

Those demands have resonated with US President Donald Trump, who has called himself the “crypto president” and urged policymakers to revamp rules in favor of the industry.

“It’s riding a number of tailwinds at the moment,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, citing strong institutional demand, expectations of further gains and support from Trump as reasons for the bullishness.

“It’s been a very, very, strong move over the past six or seven days and it’s hard to see where it stops now. It looks like it can easily have a look at the $125,000 level,” he said.

The surge in bitcoin, which is up 29% for the year so far, has sparked a broader rally across other cryptocurrencies over the past few sessions even in the face of Trump’s chaotic tariffs.

Ether, the second-largest token, scaled a more than five-month top of $3,059.60, while XRP and Solana gained about 3% each.

The sector’s total market value has swelled to about $3.81 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

“What we find interesting and are watching closely are the signs that bitcoin is now being seen as a long-term reserve asset, not just by retail investors and institutions but even some central banks,” said Gracie Lin, OKX’s Singapore CEO.

“We’re also seeing increasing participation from Asia-based investors, including family offices and wealth managers. These are strong signs of bitcoin’s role in the global financial system and the structural shift in how it is perceived, suggesting that this isn’t just another hype-driven rally.”

Earlier this month, Washington declared the week of July 14 as “crypto week,” where members of Congress are set to vote on the Genius Act, the Clarity Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act. The most significant bill is the Genius Act, which would create federal rules for stablecoins. (CNN)

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An individual who had defrauded Rs. 1375 million via a bitcoin scam has been remanded until 06th April 2023.

According to Daily News, the suspect was arrested for carrying out the financial scam through BINANCE social media.

He was ordered to be remanded by Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis yesterday after being arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

He was arrested following a complaint lodged by a female, who the suspect had joined to increase the bitcoins which belonged to her, but had defrauded her.

The CID is conducting further investigations into the incident. (NewsWire)

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