The March 12 Bitcoin price crash has put its safe-haven narrative under stress, but the true stores of value are extremely static assets.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) suffered a tremendous crash on March 12, falling from almost $8,000 to stabilize at around $5,000, a loss of about 40% in the span of less than two days. This happened in the context of a global sell-off in all equity markets, where United States stock market indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lost around 10% in a single day — a substantial loss for traditional markets.

Some were quick to decree the end of the narrative that Bitcoin is a safe haven asset, sometimes called a store of value, while others pointed to the fact that even gold fell during the bloodbath.

According to TradingView data, the gold price began a fairly steep descent on March 12 from $1,660 per ounce to lows of $1,450 on March 16, a loss of 13% in value. The fact that the precious metal didn’t behave as a hedge during the collapse may have come as a surprise to some. In light of this inconsistency, it is important to understand exactly what a safe haven asset is and how it should behave.