Bitcoin bulls have long been frustrated as they see cryptocurrencies trade in similar ways to stocks and other assets seen as high-risk, rather than store of value like gold. Now, some people think they see initial signs of a change.

They believe that Bitcoin, as a decentralized, non-sovereign and fixed-supply asset, should be traded more like gold and able to maintain value in extreme market volatility. However, it has failed to do this over the years, often volatility in parallel with the U.S. stock market.

However, Eric Rose, executive director of digital assets at StoneX Digital, pointed out in a telephone interview that Bitcoin has shown relatively strong performance over the past few weeks against the U.S. stocks and the U.S. dollar, which both fell due to the uncertainty of Trump's trade policy, which has caused turmoil in global financial markets.

Bitcoin has been strong, even after U.S. Treasury bonds — traditionally seen as safe-haven assets — suffered a sharp sell-off earlier this month before stabilizing. Ross said:“I would describe Bitcoin’s trading behavior over the past two weeks relative to other assets as ‘strange’, but it’s not bad.”Historically, it is rare to see stocks and the US dollar fall at the same time, and it is not common for Bitcoin to rise when the stock market falls sharply.

However, Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide Financial, said that this does not mean that Bitcoin suddenly ranks among traditional safe-haven assets.

“I’m not willing to say that Bitcoin has become a store of value or a defensive asset, but gold is obviouslyDefensive assets。”“The experience of the past few years has taught us that Bitcoin is more of a risk-favorite asset than a safe haven asset, and has not changed until recently,” Hackett said.

He added that Bitcoin’s recent strength may be driven by some unique factors that are unsustainable, such as Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy)’s continued purchase of Bitcoin. According to recent regulatory filings, the software company, which is now more regarded as a leveraged bitcoin proxy, purchased another 6,556 bitcoins for $555.8 million between April 14 and April 20. Hackett believes thatBitcoin bulls claim that it has become a store of value "it's too early", but this trend is worth paying attention to.

Ross notes that for skeptics to ultimately see Bitcoin as a replacement for gold, cryptocurrencies need to go through longer and sustained independent performance periods rather than fluctuating in parallel with other high-risk assets.

Bitcoin has risen 7.1% over the past month, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 6%, according to FactSet data. ICE that measures the strength of the US dollar against a basket of currenciesUSD IndexIt fell 4.7% during the same period. However, Bitcoin still lags behind gold, with futures prices rising 11% in the past month. Gold futures hit record highs on Tuesday and briefly broke through $3,500 for the first time, while Bitcoin is still 14.5% below the all-time high of $109,225 set on January 20.

Ross believes:“Bitcoin may have reached some level of institutional adoption, and people no longer just regard it as a high beta tech stock, but are starting to focus on its own value.”High Beta stock refers to stocks with greater volatility than the overall market.

The launch of Bitcoin Exchange-traded funds last year opened up avenues for more financial institutions to invest in cryptocurrencies, and a more friendly regulatory environment may also encourage institutional adoption. Ross noted that as uncertainty in Trump’s trade policy could undermine the dollar’s ​​position as a reliable “safe-haven asset” and its role as a de facto global reserve currency, investors may see Bitcoin as a potential safe haven in market turmoil.

“I think people are looking for a global asset that exists independently without denominated in any currency.”Ross said.

However, Joe McCann, founder and chief investment officer of cryptocurrency investment firm Asymmetric, said the narrative that drives Bitcoin prices remains complex. McCann believes Bitcoin may benefit from increased liquidity, but because it does not have profitable or cash flow as a company, it is unlikely to be hit by the recession.

He added that if the Fed and other central banks cut interest rates further to stimulate the economy, regardless of the global economy, it could drive Bitcoin up. According to CME FedWatch tools, federal funds futures traders still expect the possibility of the Fed cutting interest rates at least twice before the end of the year is more than 96%.