As traditional gold markets heat up, crypto investors are following suit—flocking to tokenized versions of the precious metal that offer both price exposure and digital flexibility.

Gold-backed cryptocurrencies like Paxos Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT) have risen 24.15% and 23.7% respectively year-to-date to new all-time highs above $3,300, roughly matching the performance of spot gold. Their prices have since receded slightly to $3,265 and $3,244, respectively.

While gold-backed cryptocurrencies surged so far this year, the wider cryptocurrency market has been in a downtrend. Bitcoin (BTC) has lost more than 11% of its value so far this year, while the wider crypto market has fallen by a little over 30%, based on the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index.

The tokens, which are backed by physical gold and track its price, experienced a surge in value as investors sought refuge from the uncertainty induced by the escalating U.S.-China trade war.

The move echoes a broader return to gold as a safe-haven asset. Inflows into gold ETFs hit 226.5 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025, the highest level since early 2022, according to data from the World Gold Council. Nearly 60% of that demand came from North America.

Similarly, gold-backed cryptocurrencies saw net token minting of over $42.7 million in the first quarter of the year, according to data from RWA.xyz, helping along with gold’s price appreciation raise their total market capitalization near $1.4 billion.

A crypto strategist who accurately timed Solana’s (SOL) meltdown this year thinks the next few years will not be kind to the popular layer-1 protocol.

Pseudonymous analyst Bluntz tells his 318,400 followers on the social media platform X that he believes SOL will spend the next two years in deep bear territory.

While Bluntz is long-term bearish on SOL, he predicts that the altcoin will witness counter-trend rallies in the coming months but notes that the surges will likely set up Solana for an even deeper drawdown.

“SOL now down 57% from the highs.

Now that it’s cool to hate it again, I can share my thoughts without having to worry about getting roasted by pleb reply guys.

The rise/bull market lasted 762 days, the bear, (AT MINIMUM) will likely last about 70% or so in time. Best case, this drags out to mid-2026 and in the worst case, end of 2026.

This move so far is likely an A wave and at some point there will probably be a very slow drawn-out complacency shoulder up that most will mistake for a new bull market.”

Bluntz utilizes the Elliott Wave theory in his analysis, which states that an asset will go through an ABC correction after completing a five-wave surge.

Looking at the trader’s chart, he seems to suggest that SOL will end its A-wave pullback once it goes below $100. He also predicts that SOL will kick off a counter-trend B-wave rally en route to $200 by early 2026 before crashing to around $80 in 2027 for the C-wave correction.

At that point, Bluntz predicts that SOL will launch a new five-wave rally that could see Solana trading above $300 in 2028.

At time of writing, SOL is worth $118.10, down nearly 7% on the day.

Turning the US Dollar Index (DXY), a benchmark of the value of the US dollar compared to a basket of six major currencies, Bluntz says that 2025 will be a horrible year for the dominant global reserve asset.

“DXY getting absolutely murdered this week probably continues throughout the whole of 2025 in my opinion.”

Based on the trader’s chart, he appears to suggest that the DXY is now in the midst of a C-wave correction that could take the index below 100 points.

At time of writing, the DXY is trading at 103.84 points.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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