Bitcoin has been around for a long time and despite its volatility, the leading cryptocurrency has stood the test of time since its launch.
However, the years 2020 to 2026 mark an important year for Bitcoin as it managed to outperform in all crises.
Bitcoin during 7 major crises
Starting with the first escalation between the US and Iran on January 3, 2020, Bitcoin [BTC] was up 20% compared to gold, which was up only 6%.
On the contrary, S&P 500 shares fell 7%. The same year, during the COVID-19 outbreak in March, BTC rose 21%, while the S&P 500 and gold rose 2% and 3% respectively.
Similar patterns were seen in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the war between the US and Iran in 2026, and also during the US banking crisis.
However, it wasn’t until 2024 when the carry trade in the Yen came to a halt, causing gold to rise 9% and the S&P 500 to rise 7%, while BTC rose only 3%.
For context, at the time, the Bank of Japan’s rate hike and weak US data led to greater yen appreciation.
The comparison chart of these assets, based on a 60-day return, highlighted how Bitcoin was the only asset to return.
Noting the same about this, the Bitcoin Archive account went to X and noted:
7 out of 7 times. No other property comes close.
BitBo’s Bitcoin price history chart (since 2009) further confirmed the sentiment. If you zoom out, you can see that the overall graph of BTC price is moving upward despite the short-term declines.
In 2022 the perspectives were different, but in 2026…
However, a research paper issued by SRNN in 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine, contradicted the above position and noted:
Crypto assets mainly exhibit weak safe haven properties for the commodity market and strong safe haven properties for foreign currencies.
However, another research paper released by Grayscale in 2026, four years later, saw a change in perspective as it added:
Crypto has held up well since the start of the war with Iran.
Using examples, Zach Pandl, head of Grayscale Research, showed how spot crypto ETPs experienced net inflows. In addition, Pandl also shed light on how open interest on perpetual futures soared despite the sell-off risk from October to early February.
Additionally, regulatory developments such as the CLARITY Act and the SEC’s non-securities guidelines painted a positive picture of the crypto market.
In times of war, crypto payments even escalated, with Iran accepting tolls in crypto from ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
Seeing such activity, AMBCrypto had previously reported that the toll charged by Iran would weaken the US dollar against BTC. As expected, this would in turn lead to Bitcoin becoming the world’s reserve currency.
Final summary
- Bitcoin’s 60-day bounce rate is higher than traditional assets like gold and the S&P 500.
- Not everyone shares the same opinion about Bitcoin being considered the ultimate safe haven in times of war.