Bitcoin outperforms gold and stocks since beginning of Iran war

During the week and a half since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, Bitcoin is doing better than gold and stocks. Since the start of the war, the original cryptocurrency is up about 7%, and on Wednesday was trading at around $71,000, according to Binance. Gold has stayed at virtually the same price, trading at about $5,240, which is roughly where it was the morning of February 28, when the first strikes hit Iran. The S&P 500 is down about 1% during that time. 

Bitcoin’s performance is a welcome sight for those in the digital assets sector, as the original cryptocurrency previously had a woeful few months. It reached levels as low as $63,000, down 50% from its all-time high in October. Crypto stocks have benefited from the fact that they can be traded at any time and are not beholden to banking hours like traditional stocks. 

“Crypto’s 24/7 structure is increasingly an edge for the asset class,” said Gabe Selby, head of research at CF Benchmarks. “When the Iran conflict escalated over the weekend, crypto-native markets were the only venue open for global risk trading, this is a structural advantage that traditional markets cannot replicate.”

The original cryptocurrency also seems to be riding the wave of President Trump’s recent comments that the war may be ending. On Monday, Trump told CBS news, “I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” saying that Iran had “nothing left in a mili...