Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded on Wednesday, climbing back from a flush to $120,000 the previous day to near $124,000. At press time, BTC was trading around $123,500, up 1.5% over the past 24 hours.

Altcoins participated in the move but did not fully recover earlier-week highs. Ethereum (ETH) traded at $4,331.68, Ripple (XRP) at $2.8196, Solana (SOL) at $220.73, Dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.2451, and Avalanche (AVAX) at $28.03, each rising between 1% and 3%. The CoinDesk 20 Index, tracking major crypto assets, rose 2%.

Crypto Miners See Gains on AI-Driven Optimism
BTC miners connected to high-performance computing infrastructure led equities gains. Cipher Mining (CIFR) and Bitfarms (BITF) jumped 11%–12%, while CleanSpark (CLSK) and Hut 8 (HUT) added roughly 6%. Analysts attributed the momentum to expectations that rising demand for AI-driven computing power will benefit crypto miners.

Macro Signals and Fed Minutes
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, released Wednesday, indicate most officials still anticipate interest rate cuts later this year. However, some policymakers felt a September cut wasn’t necessary, while the majority highlighted upside risks to inflation.

Gold Dominates the Debasement Trade
Despite Bitcoin’s recovery, gold continues to lead the “debasement trade,” surging past $4,000—up 50% year-to-date. The rally is fueled by growing government deficits, volatile bond markets, and expectations of looser monetary policy. Japanese yields recently hit 17-year highs, pushing global investors toward gold as a safe haven, often at the expense of risk assets like crypto.

Charlie Morris, CIO at ByteTree, noted that gold’s rally is underpinned by fundamentals rather than speculation.

“The market is hot, but it’s not red hot,” he said. “If deficits, money printing, instability, and rate cuts are driving the gold price higher, perhaps those factors need to shift before crypto can benefit.”

Morris suggested that Bitcoin historically benefits as a secondary asset in macro-driven rotations.

“When gold starts to cool, the chances are that Bitcoin will get going again,” he said.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, reiterated that Bitcoin could eventually capture up to half of gold’s market size. Based on the latest gold surge, this projection implies a BTC price of roughly $644,000, assuming Bitcoin continues to serve as a “digital gold” for younger generations.