Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, has seen a major correction, losing over 40 percent of its value in less than a month, prompting investors to dump the cryptocurrency in exchange for the precious metal.
Gold dealer Sharps Pixley said sales of gold coins at Frankfurt-based CoinInvest grew fivefold as Bitcoin collapsed in recent days.
"Yesterday was a hell of a crazy day. Emails and phones did not stand still, with customers asking how they could turn their crypto into gold," Director Daniel Marburger told Bloomberg.
"Bitcoin is a bit of a lobster pot – it’s easy to get in, but hard to get out. Gold also offers investors 4,000 years of history as a store of value, and that’s looking quite appealing right now," a gold trader told Bloomberg.
While Bitcoin and the dollar have recently declined, gold rallied 7.5 percent in the past month to a four-month high.
In recent weeks, investors have been increasingly worried about the future of Bitcoin, as China and South Korea have announced plans to crack down on cryptocurrencies.