Mike McGlone, a Senior Community Strategist at Bloomberg, recently expressed his views on the performance of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in comparison to gold. He raised doubts about the idea that spot ETFs would lead to unlimited growth for Bitcoin.
Comparing Bitcoin ETFs and Gold
In a post on X, McGlone contended that the introduction of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs is not likely to serve as a long-term bullish driver. He suggested that these ETFs might have capped Bitcoin’s potential upside rather than enabling continuous price increases.
He drew parallels between the performance of Bitcoin ETFs and gold, which has historically excelled as a safe-haven asset.
According to McGlone, since the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) in January 2024, Bitcoin has seen an increase of approximately 50%. This rise aligns closely with that of the S&P 500 during this same timeframe.
In stark contrast, gold experienced an impressive surge of around 135% within this period. McGlone highlighted that despite significant buzz surrounding institutional adoption through spot ETFs, returns from Bitcoin have been relatively modest.
The Performance Gap Between Gold and Bitcoin ETF
The debut of U.S. bitcoin ETFs could signal an end to widespread crypto price growth while favoring gold instead. Since January when iShares launched its trust ETF (IBIT), bitcoin has only risen about 50% by April… pic.twitter.com/1yeIbAqcPp
— Mike McGlone (@mikemcglone11) April 9, 2026
The influx into bitcoin ETFs provided temporary support for prices by attracting new institutional and retail investments.
However, McGlone suggests this may indicate a peak in crypto cycles; he believes capital driven by ETF purchases might represent the zenith before enthusiasm dwindled and funds shifted elsewhere.
As a traditional non-yielding asset class, gold has benefited more from macroeconomic influences compared to bitcoin’s behavior as more risk-oriented investment; meanwhile, gold remains reliable during times of uncertainty.
The Future for Bitcoin?
This discussion regarding performance between bitcoin and gold comes as $BTC‘s price stabilizes around $71,251.
$BTC‘s value is down roughly 45% from its peak exceeding $120K in early 2025; however recent optimism across broader markets briefly lifted it above $72K again.
On April 7th,Bitcoin reached up to $72,767, marking its highest point since March18th.$BTC‘s value saw over five percent gains this month after breaking out from five consecutive months marked by losses.
Following this spike upward bulls anticipated recovery towards levels near $80k specifically analyst Fred Krueger predicted $ BTC could reclaim those heights possibly within just one week .
However shortly thereafter ,$ BTC struggled maintaining above seventy-two thousand dollars falling back down close enough around seventy-one thousand two hundred fifty-one dollars at present time writing . Daily trading volume also dipped nearly thirty percent indicating waning investor interest totaling thirty-five point six billion dollars .
For now ,Bitcoin continues consolidating awaiting substantial updates capable pushing it higher yet again !