Gold & Silver Soar to Record Highs—But Bitcoin’s Multi-Year Returns Still Leave Them in the Dust
Precious metals just hit all-time peaks. Bitcoin's been there, done that—and kept climbing.
The New Safe Haven?
Gold and silver are flashing their classic crisis credentials, rallying hard as traditional markets wobble. Central banks keep buying, inflation fears linger—the old playbook is in full swing. Yet for all their shine, these historic highs still look modest next to the digital alternative's track record.
Returns That Rewrite the Rules
While metals notch new records, Bitcoin's multi-year performance charts tell a different story—one of exponential gains that make even a bull market in bullion seem tame. It's the difference between a steady climb and a moonshot.
Portfolios Are Getting a Digital Upgrade
Forward-thinking investors aren't just diversifying with metals anymore. They're allocating to assets that don't just store value—they accelerate it. Bitcoin's volatility? That's the price of admission for returns that leave traditional hedges in the rearview.
The Verdict
Gold and silver are having their moment. But in the long game of wealth preservation and growth, digital assets aren't just competing—they're redefining the finish line. After all, what's a record high when your competitor operates in a different dimension of returns? (And let's be honest—if your 'safe haven' needs central banks to keep buying just to hold its gains, maybe it's not that safe.)
BTC remains ahead of gold and silver despite their record highs
While gold is now trading above $5,350 per ounce and silver has breached the $110 mark, BTC spent much of January consolidating between $87,000 and $93,000, raising concerns from investors.
Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas referred to this phenomenon on the social media platform X as Bitcoin being in a “coma.”
Despite this coma, since late 2022, just before the wave of spot Bitcoin ETF filings, BTC has climbed 429%. During the same period, gold ROSE 177% and silver increased 350%. Even the tech-heavy QQQ index, which gained 140%, trails far behind Bitcoin.
Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas pointed out that Bitcoin “spanked” everything so severely during 2023 and 2024 that even with gold and silver having their “greatest year ever” in 2025, they are yet to catch up to Bitcoin’s total return profile.
“IMO what happened was the ‘institutionalization’ narrative got priced in very quickly and ahead of it all actually happening. So it had to take a breather so the actual narrative could catch up to the price. Feel better now? You’re welcome.” Balchunas wrote.
In mid-January 2026, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a massive $1.73 billion in weekly outflows, the largest since late 2025. This sell-off was due to an increase in investments into precious metals. Gold recently hit an intraday high of $5,111, and silver is rising even more dynamically, pushing the gold-to-silver ratio to its lowest point in 15 years.
What is the new narrative driving the next phase of the crypto market?
On January 3, 2026, the U.S. national debt officially surpassed $38.5 trillion. Government data shows that the debt is growing by approximately $6 billion every single day, or $2.2 trillion per year.
This rapid accumulation of debt has caused both Bitcoin and precious metals to be used as protection against this debasement. While BTC has pulled back from its October 2025 peak of $126,000, advocates argue that its fixed supply of 21 million makes it the ultimate defense against a fiat system that “prints relentlessly.”
Cryptopolitan reported earlier today that Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, thinks trouble with Japan’s currency could ultimately lead to a significant increase in Bitcoin prices. According to the Maelstrom executive, problems with the yen and declining prices on Japanese government debt indicate serious financial weakness that could prompt US intervention that WOULD ultimately benefit Bitcoin.
The TRUMP administration and its Council of Advisors for Digital Assets are currently pushing for the passage of new market structure bills, such as the GENIUS Act, in order to create a safer and cheaper environment for everyday investors to allocate funds to digital assets.
At the state level, lawmakers in South Dakota recently revived a bill to establish a state-level Bitcoin reserve.
Roughly 60% of top U.S. banks are now reportedly preparing to offer BTC services. Analysts from Bank of America and Goldman Sachs suggest that while gold could reach $6,000 by the spring of 2026, Bitcoin’s “base case” for the year remains between $130,000 and $160,000 if ETF inflows stabilize.
Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.
