Gold and Bitcoin: An Unequal Race in Times of Monetary Expansion

In 2025, gold proves to be one of the strongest assets, recording an impressive value increase of 38% since the beginning of the year. This performance surpasses even Bitcoin, which gained 23%. Despite this success, it is undeniable that Bitcoin, by comparison, is realizing its full potential, far exceeding the returns of gold and other investments. A look at these two inflation-resistant asset classes compared to the US money supply M2 provides additional explanations for their performance. Including M2 growth, gold—despite its recent success wave—remains below its peak from 2011 and is moving at a similar level as in 1975. The historical high of gold in relation to M2 was reached in 1980. Bitcoin, on the other hand, paints a different picture. Every price increase of Bitcoin was accompanied by new records against M2, as was the case last month when Bitcoin reached both an absolute all-time high and a new high relative to the money supply. This juxtaposition highlights the different roles of the two assets. Gold continues to serve as a long-standing protection and portfolio stabilizer. In contrast, the behavior of Bitcoin demonstrates how new forms of money can react differently in an era of rapid monetary growth.