Gold Buys Hit New Highs — Is Bitcoin Next In Line For A Record Run?

Gold's price just punched through another ceiling. Central banks are hoarding it, investors are piling in, and the shiny metal is having a moment. It's the classic safe-haven play, the ultimate 'I don't trust the system' bet that's been working for, well, millennia.

The Digital Gold Rush

So where does that leave Bitcoin? The narrative writes itself. If gold is the antique store of value, Bitcoin is its digital heir—scarce, global, and utterly indifferent to central bank printers. When traditional finance gets the jitters, capital doesn't just vanish; it goes hunting for a new home. Gold's surge signals a deep-seated institutional anxiety. That same anxiety could be the rocket fuel for a crypto breakout.

It's not about copying gold's homework. It's about the same macroeconomic test paper. Rampant money printing, geopolitical tremors, and a nagging feeling that the old financial guardrails are rusting—these forces don't discriminate between asset classes. They lift all non-sovereign boats.

A Provocative Crossroads

History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. Major gold rallies have sometimes been a prelude to crypto mania, as the 'hard asset' narrative spills over. This time feels different, though. The infrastructure is mature. Spot ETFs are live. The institutional on-ramps are paved. Bitcoin isn't just a speculative tech toy anymore; it's a legitimate—if volatile—portfolio line item for the very funds now buying bullion.

The trillion-dollar question: Will the 'store of value' capital see digital gold as the next logical stop, or will it dismiss crypto as a distracting sideshow to the main event? One cynical take: Wall Street loves a narrative it can sell twice—first the fear that drives you to gold, then the FOMO that drives you to Bitcoin. The fees, after all, are better on the latter.

Watch the flows. If gold's record highs are a tremor, Bitcoin's reaction could be the quake.

Central Bank Buying Surges

According to data cited by financial outlets, 2025 is on track to be the fourth-highest year this century for institutional gold accumulation when measured net year-to-date through October. Analysts at Deutsche Bank put gold’s share of central-bank reserves at about 24%, a level not seen since the 1990s. Those figures help explain why governments that once moved away from bullion are returning to it now.

Bitcoin Enters The Conversation

Some banks and market researchers are now asking whether Bitcoin could play a similar role for national treasuries. Based on reports from major financial firms, Deutsche Bank projects that Bitcoin could appear on central-bank balance sheets by 2030 as a complementary reserve asset.

Central banks are ramping up gold purchases:

Global central banks purchased +53 tonnes of gold in October, the most since November 2024.

This marks a +194% jump compared to July, and the 3rd-straight monthly acceleration.

In the first 10 months of the year, central banks have… pic.twitter.com/7pZWyEjjvf

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 4, 2025

Bitcoin’s market profile has changed: liquidity has risen, and price swings have been less extreme during recent months even though volatility remains higher than older reserve assets. bitcoin also reached a record above $123,500 in recent trading, a price point that has captured wide attention.

A small number of central banks are now at least studying the idea more seriously. The Czech National Bank, for example, has discussed the possibility of a “test allocation” to learn how crypto might behave inside a reserve mix. Those conversations tend to focus on custody, accounting rules and how to report gains or losses, rather than immediate buying.

Risk is the main reason most central banks have not moved faster. Bitcoin still shows larger price swings than standard reserve assets, and global rules for how to hold and audit crypto are not uniform. Based on expert commentary, regulators and auditors WOULD need clear guidance before many central banks felt comfortable adding crypto to official reserves.

If even a handful of national banks were to allocate a small share of reserves to Bitcoin, demand could rise sharply and change how markets view the asset. A modest sovereign allocation would not replace gold or the US dollar, but it could give Bitcoin a stronger role as a hedge for countries facing currency weakness or rising inflation. At the same time, such a MOVE would push more work into custody and compliance services, which would have to scale up quickly.

Gold buying by central banks is already significant — 53 tons in one month and about 24% of reserves in gold for some — and that Bitcoin is being discussed as a possible next step for some policymakers. The path from discussion to adoption is uncertain, and many technical and legal questions remain. Still, the debate has moved from theory to test runs and official reports, making this one of the more closely watched trends in global finance this year.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView