Experts Warn of “Endgame” for Bitcoin as Gold Hits New ATH

Gold soared above $4,400 per ounce on December 22, marking a new all-time high. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is now sitting 29.5% below its record high.

The underperformance of Bitcoin relative to gold has sparked concerns among analysts that speculative assets may be entering a prolonged downturn.

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Gold continued its upward rally today, reaching a fresh all-time high of $4,409 during the early Asian trading session. At the time of writing, the price adjusted to $4,403 per ounce. At the same time, gold futures reached a high of $4,415 per ounce.

The strength was not limited to gold alone. Precious metals broadly extended their gains. Silver surged to a peak of $69.4 per ounce.

“Silver is now hitting daily record highs, up +140% in 2025 alone. Technicals don’t matter anymore and we’ve seen 8-straight green months,” The Kobeissi Letter posted.

Platinum also joined the rally, climbing to its highest price in years. The metal is now only 4.5% away from its all-time high.

“Price has surged above $2,040/oz. The move comes with strong momentum, suggesting a decisive breakout rather than a short-term spike. After lagging gold and silver for most of the cycle, platinum is now catching up, signaling renewed interest in the metals complex and a possible rotation into undervalued commodities,” analyst Mario Nawfal wrote.

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Bitcoin Underperforms in 2025 While Silver and Gold Lead Returns

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has stayed weak in comparison. Over the past 24 hours, the largest cryptocurrency has only gained about 0.89%.

At press time, it traded at $88,890, around 29.5% beneath its peak. This performance has increased pressure on long-term holders, with profits continuing to decline.

Overall, in 2025, Bitcoin is down nearly 5%. In contrast, traditional assets have delivered strong gains. According to the latest data, silver has surged 138%, while gold has increased by almost 68% over the same period.

Market Strategist, Charlie Bilello, highlighted that, since January 2024, when the first Bitcoin ETF debuted, gold has surpassed Bitcoin’s performance by 19%.

“Bitcoin is what’s preventing so many people from buying gold or silver. It’s so unfortunate that they will lose most of their money in Bitcoin instead of making even more money in precious metals,” Economist Peter Schiff stated.

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Equities have also outperformed Bitcoin this year, with the Nasdaq rising 20.8%, the S&P 500 advancing 16.4%, and the Russell 2000 climbing 13.4%.

A market watcher explained that gold’s move to fresh all-time highs heading into year-end suggests that investors continue to prioritize capital protection while rotating into risk assets selectively. According to the analyst, periods when gold rallies alongside equities tend to reflect cautious optimism.

“That backdrop explains why BTC Bitcoin is holding ranges instead of accelerating,” the post read.

Analyst Sees Ratio Shift as Warning for Risk Assets

Bitcoin’s continued underperformance may carry broader implications beyond market sentiment alone. Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone pointed to the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio as a key indicator. According to him,

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“If the S&P 500 posts its third down year since 2008 in 2026, the ounces of the ancient store of value equal to the speculative digital asset will gain accolades as a leading-indicator.”

McGlone pointed out that the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio is hovering near a key technical support level around 20x, based on charts dated December 19.

“What stops the cross from gravitating toward its mode at roughly 5x? The fact that Bitcoin/gold is unchanged from 2020 and has dropped despite a resilient stock market might be signaling an endgame for lofty risk assets. A prerequisite for rising Bitcoin/gold has historically been increasing equity prices. My take is the leading indicator is front running some post-inflation deflation, which may place an inordinate burden on stocks to keep going up,” McGlone added.

Nevertheless, some market participants hold a more optimistic view on Bitcoin’s outlook. An analyst argued that gold may be overbought, suggesting that capital could eventually rotate out of precious metals and into Bitcoin.

“BTC/XAU has dropped to around 20 ounces of gold, its lowest since early 2024. The weekly RSI is at 29.5, close to three-year lows, which historically marks long-term bottoms for BTC vs. gold. We see a potential bullish divergence, indicating a short-term rebound, with gold appearing overvalued and BTC undervalued,” Web3 Vibes explained.

Whether Bitcoin can close the gap with gold is unclear. The next few months will show if McGlone’s concerns prove true or if risk appetite rebounds for speculative assets. For now, gold appears to outperform its digital rival by a wide margin.