Bitcoin’s claim to be digital gold loses its shine after the token plunges alongside stocks in the Evergrande sell-off

Bitcoin’s claim to be digital gold loses its shine after the token plunges alongside stocks in the Evergrande sell-off

Fans often say the world's biggest cryptocurrency is "digital gold" - a safe-haven asset that investors can turn to at times of market stress or high inflation. Yet that view was dealt a blow on Monday, when the digital currency crumbled along with stocks as Chinese property developer Evergrande's debt crisis roiled markets. Bitcoin tumbled 8.5% on Monday, according to Bloomberg data, while the fell 1.7% in its worst day since May and the tech-heavy dropped 2.1%. Other cryptocurrencies, such as and , also plunged. Meanwhile, and rallied as investors turned to assets that are traditionally seen as safe places for investors to hide during market volatility. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio is among those to have said bitcoin could be a in portfolios, while crypto bulls such as Mike Novogratz have long But a number of analysts said Monday's sell-off showed there are problems with that argument. "It's funny, [bitcoin] always sells off when risk takes a hit," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading platform Markets.com. "That's because it is the most risky asset, so it's the first to dump when there is liquidating of positions, margin calls, et cetera, to worry about." Data showed that bitcoin's correlation