Over the past five years, Bitcoin has been a popular choice for investors, significantly surpassing gold by nine times and delivering impressive returns of up to 1,000%.
However, the landscape has changed in 2025. Gold has surged by 45% since January, whereas Bitcoin’s growth during this period is limited to just 20%.
In response to inflation concerns, budgetary challenges, and global instability, central banks and pension funds are increasingly favoring gold as a secure investment. Although Bitcoin hasn’t underperformed dramatically, its behavior aligns more closely with technology stocks than with the “digital gold” narrative that some have promoted.
Ed Egilinsky from Direxion remarked that “Bitcoin remains a high-risk asset until proven otherwise.” He emphasized that while gold plays a stabilizing role in investment portfolios by offering diversification and protection, Bitcoin is primarily seen as an instrument for short-term trading strategies.
Since 2017, Bitcoin’s average correlation over a span of 30 days with the Nasdaq 100 index—a tech-heavy benchmark—has been recorded at 0.32. In contrast, its correlation with gold stands at merely 0.09. This suggests that Bitcoin tends to move in tandem with Silicon Valley trends: it climbs when risk-taking is prevalent but declines during market contractions. Conversely, gold typically gains value amidst global crises.
Lawrence Lepard from Equity Management Associates believes we are experiencing an era where quantitative easing drives up asset prices across the board. He asserts that under these conditions institutional investors still prefer gold due to their cautious stance on Bitcoin’s unpredictable nature.
*This information should not be considered financial advice.