Bitcoin price tends to attract the safe-haven label during moments of stress, yet the latest market shock painted a very different picture. Gold price collapsed in dramatic fashion, wiping out about $6 trillion in market value within minutes. The speed and scale stood out immediately.
This was not a slow unwind or a calm rebalancing. The move carried the weight of something breaking under pressure. As that chaos unfolded, Bitcoin followed gold on the way down, raising fresh doubts about its role as digital gold.
Gold price rarely moves in violent bursts without a deeper cause. Hanzo, an analyst on X, described the selloff as a structural break rather than a routine correction. Extreme deleveraging spread across markets at once. Margin calls hit fast.
Collateral vanished quickly. Forced liquidations followed without mercy. Safe haven assets usually absorb stress during these moments, yet gold price erased trillions in value within a narrow window. That behavior hinted at stress inside the financial system rather than a simple change in sentiment.
Hanzo pointed out that moves of this size sit far outside historical norms. Standard deviations lost meaning once selling accelerated. The message from gold price action looked clear. Liquidity stress had entered the system, and leverage was being unwound aggressively.
🚨 THIS IS NOT OKAY
— Hanzo ㊗️ (@DeFi_Hanzo) January 29, 2026
Today, Gold and Silver wiped out $6 TRILLION in market cap.
To put that in perspective: Nvidia and Apple's market caps combined were wiped out in only 30 mins…
This isn't a normal selloff. This is a structural break.
A move of this magnitude in this… pic.twitter.com/lVqXQUPreB
Bitcoin Price Followed Risk Dynamics Not Safe Haven Behavior
Bitcoin price behavior during the gold rally already raised questions. Gold climbed from $4,600 to $5,560 without meaningful participation from BTC. Bitcoin price stayed flat for most of that move. The moment gold price reversed, BTC price reacted instantly. Bitcoin tracked the downside almost tick for tick.
Hanzo framed this as pure risk asset behavior. Safe havens usually show asymmetric protection during stress. Bitcoin showed none. BTC price captured zero upside from gold price strength, then mirrored the collapse during liquidation. That pattern weakened the digital gold narrative at a critical moment.
The issue was not belief or ideology. Hanzo emphasized operational mechanics. Bitcoin currently sits inside the same funding markets and margin systems as equities and commodities. When margin calls arrive, assets get sold without preference. Bitcoin stays liquid, so it becomes part of the unwind.
BTC Correlation Explained By Leverage And Forced Selling
Correlation during stress often differs from correlation during calm periods. Hanzo highlighted this distinction clearly. Bitcoin correlation during this event came from leverage, not fundamentals. Funds used BTC as collateral within the same chains supporting other assets. When gold price fell, margin pressure spread instantly.
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Bitcoin price then behaved as an exit valve rather than a hedge. Selling BTC allowed funds to meet obligations elsewhere. This dynamic explained why BTC ignored gold rallies yet joined gold crashes. Downside correlation dominated because forced selling mechanics ruled the moment.
This pattern pointed to deleveraging across asset classes rather than rotation into safety. Healthy risk-off phases usually reward hedges early. Bitcoin missed that window completely.
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