ETFs: Stocks in the Shadow of Gold and Bitcoin
Investor interest in equity ETFs remains strong—despite the rally coming to an end. However, anything related to gold or cryptocurrencies is now in high demand again. Also back in the spotlight: defense ETFs.
August 25, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). While the stock markets are, at best, moving sideways, the price of gold has recently risen sharply—and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies even more so. This is also reflected in ETP trading. Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank describes it as a “difficult week” for the stock markets. “Stock markets in both the U.S. and Europe suffered losses,” he notes. Nevertheless, he reports 80 percent more purchases than sales for equity ETFs.
As of Tuesday noon, the DAX stands at 26,270 points, slightly below its recent all-time high. The price of gold, on the other hand, has risen rapidly from around $4,000 to its current level of $4,630 per troy ounce.
At ICF Bank, there is therefore currently a lot of activity in gold mining ETFs and gold ETCs, as Ivo Orlemann reports. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (IE00BQQP9F84) is seeing “massive buying,” and gold price ETCs—both those with currency hedging (XS2183935274) and those without (IE00B579F325). According to Janis Völker of Lang & Schwarz, gold ETCs are also popular again, such as Xetra-Gold (DE000A0S9GB0) and iShares Physical Gold (IE00B4ND3602).
“No Stopping Now” for Crypto ETNs
But it’s cryptocurrencies that are making the headlines. After a long period of sideways movement around $64,000, Bitcoin has recently risen to just under $80,000. One reason: hopes for political tailwinds following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and representatives of the crypto industry. Added to this was the U.S. government’s announcement that it intends to step up its repurchases of its own Treasury bonds to counteract the rapid rise in interest rates.
At Lang & Schwarz, crypto ETNs have therefore been “in extremely high demand” again since the end of last week. “This applies across all currencies and products. There’s no stopping it now,” reports Völker. Orlemann also sees renewed interest—albeit at a low level. Examples include the Invesco Physical Bitcoin (XS2376095068) and the 21Shares Ethereum Staking (CH0454664027).
Ivo Orlemann
Equity ETFs: Clear Buying Interest
According to Völker, the new Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap (IE000CVUM3N6) is very popular among investors trading global stocks. It offers particularly broad diversification and provides access to companies from developed and emerging markets with high, medium, and low market capitalization. As always, the VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders (NL0011683594) is in high demand at ICF. Among the products purchased in the global segment at Baader Bank are the active ETF Robeco 3D Global Equity (IE000WJ7OF21) and the currency-hedged WisdomTree Global Quality Dividend Growth (IE0007M3MLF3). On the selling side, one multifactor ETF in particular stood out: the JPM Global Equity Multi-Factor (IE000A9QKUV7).
In the U.S. segment, small- and mid-cap stocks are currently performing well, as Heinrich notes, for example with the Fidelity US Fundamental Small-Mid Cap (IE000PNL0242). ICF clients are placing heavy bets on a somewhat more specialized product, the Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call (IE00BM8R0J59)—with almost exclusively buy orders. The ETF invests in Nasdaq 100 companies in conjunction with a covered call strategy, which involves selling call options on the index to generate option premiums. At the same time, upside potential is limited.
European Stocks: “Mixed Picture”
“European ETFs are showing a mixed picture,” adds Baader Bank trader Heinrich. For example, the Xtrackers MSCI EMU High Dividend Yield ESG (IE000VCBWFL8) is in demand, while the iShares Dow Jones Eurozone Sustainability Screened (DE000A0F5UG3) is being sold.
South Korea Far Ahead
The South Korean stock market has posted the best performance so far this year compared to the rest of the world, according to figures from the ETF platform justETF. With a gain of nearly 79 percent—despite significant losses in June and July—it is far ahead of the second- and third-place finishers, Taiwan (63 percent) and Poland (30 percent), based on the largest ETF in each index, measured in euros. Indonesia has performed the worst, with a loss of 32 percent, followed by India (down 9 percent) and China (down 8 percent).
- Learn more: www.justetf.com
AI Less Important, Defense More Important
According to Lang & Schwarz trader Völker, the topic of artificial intelligence has taken a back seat. “Interest is still there, but it’s not quite as strong as it used to be.” At ICF, there’s still a lot of activity in the VanEck Semiconductor (IE00BMC38736). At the same time, the defense sector has regained importance. Orlemann reports brisk trading in the WisdomTree Europe Defense (IE0002Y8CX98) and VanEck Defense (IE000YYE6WK5).
By Anna-Maria Borse, August 25, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
About the Author
Anna-Maria Borse is a finance and business editor specializing in financial markets, the stock market, and economic issues.
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