Bitcoin-Stock Correlation Hits Weakest Level Since 2022—Will It Last?

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-02-26Last updated on 2026-02-26

Abstract

According to analytics firm Santiment, Bitcoin has reached its weakest correlation with the stock market since the FTX collapse in November 2022. While the S&P 500 has risen 7% over the past six months, Bitcoin has declined 43% in the same period, sharply underperforming traditional equities. This persistent decoupling is unusual, as historical patterns suggest such dramatic divergences typically don't last indefinitely. Furthermore, Bitcoin has also developed a negative correlation with Gold, moving in opposite directions and entering a "not digital gold" period. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $66,000.

Bitcoin has recently become the least correlated to the stock market since the FTX crash back in 2022, according to analytics firm Santiment.

Bitcoin Has Broken Away From S&P 500

In a new post on X, Santiment has discussed how Bitcoin has moved relative to the stock market recently. The number one digital asset has faced a downtrend alongside the rest of the cryptocurrency sector in the last few months that has taken its price below $70,000. Compared to six months ago, BTC is today down 43%.

Historically, the asset has generally shown some degree of correlation with the stocks. “For years, Bitcoin has often moved in the same direction as the stock market, particularly the S&P 500,” noted Santiment. Lately, however, this trend has broken. While BTC has gone down, the S&P 500 is up 7% in the past six months. Below is a chart that shows how the price trajectories of the two assets have compared.

BTC appears to have diverged from traditional markets | Source: Santiment on X

According to Santiment, this is the weakest correlation that Bitcoin has shown to the stocks since November 2022. Back then, the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX induced a price crash for the asset that caused it to diverge from the S&P 500.

This previous breakaway for the cryptocurrency was different from the current one, however, as it lasted only briefly. The latest one, on the other hand, has been rather persistent. “Instead of moving alongside equities, Bitcoin has sharply underperformed while traditional markets have remained stable and gold has thrived,” said the analytics firm.

Now, will the decoupling that Bitcoin has experienced from the S&P 500 last? If the past is anything to go by, the answer may lean toward no. “Historically, when an asset that is usually correlated breaks away in this dramatic fashion, it typically does not stay disconnected forever,” explained Santiment.

The S&P 500 isn’t the only traditional asset that Bitcoin has diverged from; Gold has also charted a different path from BTC recently, despite the latter being popularly considered the former’s digital analogue.

In an X post, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju has shared the data of an indicator that tracks the 90-day correlation between Bitcoin and Gold.

The trend in the correlation metric between BTC and Gold over the last few years | Source: @ki_young_ju on X

As displayed in the above graph, BTC mostly observed a positive degree of correlation to Gold between 2022 and the first three quarters of 2025. Since the last quarter of 2025, however, the correlation metric has plummeted into the negative zone for the assets.

A negative correlation implies that while the two assets exhibit a relationship, it’s of the negative kind. In other words, it means the assets are moving in opposite directions. “Bitcoin is in a “not digital gold” period,” said Young Ju.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $66,000, down 2% over the last week.

Looks like the price of the coin has recovered from its latest drop | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Related Questions

QAccording to Santiment, when was the last time Bitcoin showed such a weak correlation to the stock market?

AThe last time Bitcoin showed such a weak correlation to the stock market was in November 2022, following the collapse of the FTX exchange.

QHow has the performance of the S&P 500 compared to Bitcoin's over the past six months?

AOver the past six months, the S&P 500 is up 7%, while Bitcoin is down 43%.

QWhat is the current state of the correlation between Bitcoin and Gold, according to the data from CryptoQuant?

AThe 90-day correlation between Bitcoin and Gold has plummeted into the negative zone since the last quarter of 2025, meaning the two assets are moving in opposite directions.

QWhat is the current price of Bitcoin mentioned at the end of the article?

AAt the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $66,000.

QHow does Santiment historically view the duration of such a decoupling between correlated assets?

ASantiment explains that historically, when a usually correlated asset breaks away in a dramatic fashion, it typically does not stay disconnected forever.

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363 Total ViewsPublished 2025.05.13Updated 2025.05.13

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