Why Is Bitcoin Lagging Gold?

Why Is Bitcoin Lagging Gold?

Bitcoin is the best-performing asset of the last decade.

Since Daily editor Teeka Tiwari recommended the grandaddy of crypto back in April 2016, it’s up 25,782%. And the S&P 500 is up 215% over the same period.

But this year, there’s an asset outperforming bitcoin. It’s not stocks. It’s not bonds. And it’s not real estate.

It’s gold.

Since the start of the year, gold is up 37%. That far outpaces bitcoin and the S&P 500, which are up 19% and 10%, respectively, since January 2025.

Gold is even outrunning red-hot Nvidia, one of the most popular stocks in the world, which is up 24% on the year.

I know it seems wild. Gold is conservative and stodgy. Bitcoin is revolutionary and radical.

The numbers back that up.

Over the past decade, gold has had a steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%. Bitcoin’s CAGR over the same span is a mind-blowing 74%.

To put that in perspective, if you invested $1,000 in bitcoin when Teeka first recommended it, today you’d be sitting on $258,800. That same $1,000 in gold would be worth $3,390.

So why is a “tortoise” like gold outpacing a “hare” like bitcoin so far this year?

It all comes down to one word: Uncertainty.

In today’s essay, I’ll show why continued economic uncertainty is bullish for gold… And even more bullish for bitcoin.

Uncertainty Is in the Air