Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $110,000 on Tuesday morning even as gold tore through record highs, indicating how crypto traders are hedging the Federal Reserve’s next move. Crypto majors spent the past seven days bleeding lower before an uptick on Tuesday. Bitcoin rose 2.7%, while ether (ETH) remained flat. Other majors, such as XRP (XRP), Solana’s SOL (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) added more than 3%, with overall market capitalization rising 1.8%. The contrast with gold was stark. Bullion for immediate delivery jumped to $3,508 an ounce on Tuesday, topping its April record. The metal is now up more than 30% this year, becoming the best performing major commodity in 2025 and beating BTC’s year-to-date gains of 16%. Traders cite Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole, which opened the door to rate cuts in September, as the trigger. A weaker US jobs market has strengthened the case for easing, and investors are seeking protection in hard assets. Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, said the parallel rallies in gold and bitcoin signal a broader shift in hedging behavior. “Gold’s surge reflects a structural shift where it acts as a hedge against monetary debasement and equity volatility. Bitcoin’s evolving role as an inflation hedge suggests these assets are increasingly complementary rather than competitive,” Ruck told CoinDesk. Meanwhile, Ethereum is showing signs of fatigue despite the broader narrative of institutional adoption. Daily volumes have slowed from July peaks, and on-chain metrics show a 28% drop in active addresses since late July. Augustine Fan, head of insights at SignalPlus, said rotation within digital asset tokens (DATs) has left majors on the sidelines. “The aggregate DAT premium softened back toward lows, with new inflows topping out. Rotation is taking place with Solana as the latest destination,” Fan said. He noted that Solana’s rebound in TVL has helped it decouple from the broader weakness. All eyes are now on Friday’s non-farm payrolls. Economists expect around 45,000 new jobs, with private payrolls closer to 60,000 and the unemployment rate edging up to 4.3%. A soft print could lock in a September rate cut, which in turn could revive risk appetite. But until that confirmation arrives, crypto markets are trading heavy, with downside protection in options at the highest levels in weeks. For traders, the setup is clear. Gold’s strength is telling one story, bitcoin’s stumbles another. The next few sessions will show which asset defines the market mood heading into September, a month that has historically been the weakest of the year for crypto. Read more: Bitcoin Long-Term Holders Spend 97K BTC in Largest One-Day Move of 2025
