Gold Hits 6-Week High on China Demand as Bitcoin Stalls Near $64K

Key Point

Gold rose 2.8% to $4,213 per ounce on Aug. 5, reaching its strongest price since June 22, while Bitcoin stayed near $64,000 for a second straight day. Bloomberg data showed Chinese domestic gold-backed ETFs recorded inflows for 14 consecutive days heading into the session. The World Gold Council said first-half inflows into Chinese gold ETFs totaled 40 billion yuan, or $5.6 billion, even after their worst monthly outflows on record in June. CryptoQuant said a lasting BTC recovery needs sustained US spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, cooling US bond yields, no Fed rate hikes, and a positive Coinbase Premium, which had been negative for nearly 80 consecutive days as of Aug. 5.

Market Sentiment

Cautiously Bearish, Risk-off, Macro-driven, Range-bound.

Reason: Bitcoin stayed near $64,000 while gold and US equities gained, so crypto momentum looks weak even as wider risk appetite improved.

Similar Past Cases

This type of divergence often shows that Bitcoin is trading on crypto-native liquidity rather than broad risk appetite. The difference is that the current setup also includes gold-specific demand from Chinese ETF flows, so the divergence may not reflect only weakness in Bitcoin.

Ripple Effect

If Bitcoin cannot respond to stronger cross-asset sentiment, liquidity may stay concentrated outside crypto and traders may wait for ETF flow and Coinbase Premium confirmation.

Opportunities & Risks

Opportunities: Monitor whether US spot Bitcoin ETF inflows improve and the Coinbase Premium turns positive, because those signals would support a stronger recovery setup for BTC.

Risks: Monitor whether the $64,000 area keeps producing weak bounces, because continued lower highs would keep breakdown risk in focus.