Bitcoin's Safe-Haven Status Remains Elusive Amid Global Crises

The safe-haven status of Bitcoin remains unclear due to its varying responses to different global crises. A comparative review examined 153 documents published from 2017 to 2025 and found that Bitcoin has been described as a safe haven, hedge, diversifier, volatility recipient, and risk amplifier in various contexts.

The researchers noted that the apparent role of Bitcoin changes with the event, market, measurement period, and analytical method. They also found that 61.4% of the combined literature was exclusive to one database, Scopus or Web of Science, which raises concerns about selection bias in research.

Investors are advised to examine how a confident claim was constructed, taking into account the database, search terms, date range, crisis definition, and selected model. The researchers emphasize that there is no single answer to whether Bitcoin is a safe haven or not, and its behavior can differ significantly depending on the specific risk it's intended to hedge.

A more nuanced approach to measuring Bitcoin's risk would involve considering the specific period of protection required, how Bitcoin behaved during comparable crisis phases, and the relevant country and market structure. This shift in focus from a binary safe-haven question to a portfolio-design question highlights the need for better models that can detect asymmetric relationships and tail dependence.