Bitcoin Price Hits $90,000 Again. The Case for the Crypto as 'Digital Gold.'

By Elsa OhlenThe price of Bitcoin climbed above $90,000 for the first time since early March on Tuesday, raising the idea once again that the world's largest crypto is an equivalent of "digital gold."Bitcoin is up 2.3% to $90,262 over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. The crypto rose on Monday as well, while the U.S. stock market sold off sharply."Bitcoin's performance suggests more investors might be getting comfortable with viewing it as a form of 'digital gold' that can perform independently from equities and act as a risk-off asset during periods of uncertainty," said Gerry O'Shea, Head of Global Market Insights at Hashdex, a crypto asset manager.Meanwhile, the traditional haven asset gold hit a record high as it broke through the $3,500 level for the first time Tuesday. U.S. benchmark stock indexes were up slightly after big losses Monday. Investors responded to uncertainty around U.S. economic policy following President Donald Trump's attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell."Gold is now trading at its nominal all-time high — which could foreshadow strong performance from bitcoin if investors' appetite for risk-off assets increases — while global liquidity is increasing and the U.S. regulatory environment is rapidly improving," O'Shea added.Among other cryptos, XRP rose 0.1% while Ether edged up 0.8% after starting the day in the red. Solana traded 2.8% higher over the last 24 hours Tuesday, according to CoinDesk.Write to Elsa Ohlen at [email protected] content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.