During the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, Bitcoin gained 21% in the 60 days after the initial shock.
Bitcoin News
A new study from Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin has found that Bitcoin outperforms gold and the S&P 500 in the 60 days following major global crises. The exchange tracked multiple shock events and compared returns across all three assets in each period.
Rony Szuster, head of research at the Latin American platform, led the analysis. He measured each asset's recovery in the two months following major economic and geopolitical shocks. Bitcoin posted stronger returns than the other two assets in every single period reviewed.
During the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, Bitcoin gained 21% in the 60 days after the initial shock. Gold and the S&P 500 both lagged behind in that same window.
After the 2025 U.S. tariff announcements, Bitcoin climbed 24% over the following 60 days. Gold rose 8% in that period, and the S&P 500 added just 4%, according to Mercado Bitcoin's data.
The same pattern is emerging amid current geopolitical tensions. Bitcoin has risen roughly 2.2%, moving from around $65,800 to approximately $67,300. Gold has dropped about 11% over that same stretch, while the S&P 500 has shed 4.4%, its steepest monthly decline since 2022.
Szuster warned investors against reading Bitcoin's early performance after a shock as a final signal. "It's like watching the first few minutes of a movie and thinking you already know how it ends," he said. Investors often sell assets to raise cash in the early stages of a crisis, which can drag down even defensive assets temporarily.
Despite that short-term pressure, Bitcoin has consistently bounced back after each episode, Szuster said. He added that Bitcoin remains the best-performing asset class over the past decade. The research frames Bitcoin as a resilient performer across longer post-crisis recovery windows, not a short-term hedge.
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