Demand for gold doubled on one major platform in May as crypto crashed, casting doubt on bitcoin as an inflation hedge

Demand for gold doubled on one major platform in May as crypto crashed, casting doubt on bitcoin as an inflation hedge

Demand for jumped more than 97% in May while prices moved sharply higher, a leading metal-trading marketplace said, as investors looked for shelter against rising inflation. Meanwhile, and other cryptocurrencies tumbled during the month, dealing a blow to the argument that investors see digital tokens as . BullionVault, which manages $3.9 billion of precious metals, said it saw demand for gold almost double in May as investors made larger allocations to the asset, to its highest level in four months. It said the total quantity of gold owned by its users rose to a record high. The spot gold price rose more than 7% across the month to top $1,900. Gold was down 1.3% to $1,883 on Thursday morning, well above a 2021 low of around $1,670 touched in April. "Any debate about crypto replacing gold as a core portfolio asset just got a very blunt answer," said Adrian Ash, director of research at London-based BullionVault. Bitcoin sank more than 30% in May after Elon Musk's Tesla said it would for its cars, and China's central bank signaled a . Ash said it's impossible to say whether investors sold bitcoin to buy gold, however. He said a key driver of