Fidelity: Bitcoin and gold are moving away from the dollar

Yesterday Fidelity Digital Assets published a report in which it assesses the evolution of market dynamics and checks whether the hypotheses made at the beginning of the year are still valid. 

The report analyzes six key trends that could shape digital assets over the remainder of 2026, including one that is somewhat unusual. 

This is trend number six, the one that also concerns gold. 

Gold and Bitcoin

The sixth chapter of the report is dedicated precisely to gold and Bitcoin.

It begins by recalling that Fidelity Digital Assets had already hypothesized at the beginning of 2026 that another positive year for gold would not be surprising, given that its demand is supported by central banks.

But the most interesting point is another one. 

It is the shift from dollar-based systems to monetary systems more oriented toward the equity market. 

They point out that since the beginning of the year gold initially recorded an increase of almost 30% in a context of geopolitical tensions, only to then be scaled back to a more modest +4%.

At one point they write: 

“There is also growing evidence supporting a move away from dollar-based systems.” 

They specifically mention alternative payment mechanisms, such as Iran’s acceptance of BTC for tolls and payments related to activities in the Strait of Hormuz.

They add that, at the same time, demand for gold from central banks has remained high, with recent data showing continued accumulation. The overtaking of the US dollar and Treasuries as the main component of global central bank reserves marks an important turning point for gold. 

This implies that on the one hand gold is taking the place of the dollar and US government bonds as a store of value for central banks, while Bitcoin in some specific cases is establishing itself as a global payment currency, as an alternative to the dollar itself. 

Although for Bitcoin this is still just the very beginning, the result of all this is a weakening of the primary role that the US dollar has in the global monetary system. 

The other chapters

The other five chapters of the Fidelity report are dedicated to the convergence between digital assets and capital markets, token holder rights, artificial intelligence and data mining, stability in Bitcoin’s strategy, and finally institutional momentum.

The first point notes that the integration of digital assets with traditional finance (TradFi) is progressing faster than expected, thanks to institutional demand that remains resilient and growing interest in tokenization. In addition, regulatory progress, such as the Clarity Act, is providing increasing regulatory clarity, helping the digital asset sector to expand. 

The second point highlights that the market is moving toward greater alignment of interests with token holders, favoring mechanisms such as buybacks financed by reserves and evolutions in governance. It specifies, however, that this trend is still only in its early stages, so much so that the market does not yet fully recognize a “price premium” linked to these rights.

The third point reveals that energy competition from Artificial Intelligence workloads is affecting Bitcoin mining. In fact, over the course of the year there has been a drop in the 30-day average hash rate of almost 9%, and in mining difficulty of almost 8%. Although there are also seasonal components (linked to winter weather), the data suggest a partial structural change, with large mining operators gradually allocating more and more energy and infrastructure to AI-dedicated data centers, attracted by alternative and potentially more profitable revenue streams.

The fourth point considers technical aspects and notes that attention to long-term security is growing, with research aimed at making the network quantum-computer-proof. 

The fifth discusses the current bear market, while emphasizing that Bitcoin’s structural fundamentals remain solid, having nonetheless demonstrated resilience by rebounding quickly after geopolitical shocks.

Fidelity Digital Assets

Fidelity Investments (often called simply Fidelity) is one of the largest and most important asset management and financial services companies in the world. 

It was founded in Boston, in the United States, back in 1946, and today manages several trillions of dollars on behalf of millions of both retail and institutional investors. It is therefore one of the largest giants in the world in the financial sector. 

Fidelity Digital Assets is the subsidiary of Fidelity Investments that bridges traditional finance and the world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. It was created in 2018 and focuses exclusively on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and blockchain technologies.

It should be noted that Fidelity is the manager of two of the largest crypto ETFs in the world, FBTC and FETH, second only to those of BlackRock. 

In addition, Fidelity Digital Assets was designed from the outset to meet the needs of large investors, such as hedge funds, family offices, pension funds, and financial institutions, the so-called institutional whales, offering them an environment compliant with the strict financial regulations to which they are subject.

The existence and growth of Fidelity Digital Assets are considered one of the greatest confirmations of the maturation of the crypto sector, since when a giant that manages trillions of dollars in traditional finance decides to create a dedicated and secure division for digital assets, it effectively legitimizes the entire sector in the eyes of traditional finance and government regulators.