Bitcoin is no longer a secret It currently fails on many of its claims, including claims that it can act as an inflation hedge or safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty.
While gold is up more than 80% during a period of high inflation, geopolitical conflict and interest rate uncertainty, Bitcoin is down 14% year over year.
In theory, when currency values fall, assets that protect against inflation should increase. This theory holds true for gold and other precious metal complexes. This is not the case with digital gold.
The disagreement raises new questions: Why would anyone buy Bitcoin now when precious metals and stocks offer better returns?
CoinDesk asked a group of long-term Bitcoin bulls how they defended buying Bitcoin:
Known Comfort (Jessy Gilger, senior advisor at Bitcoin native Gannett Wealth Advisors)
“The current spike in gold is just a temporary political distraction. In times of fear, institutions tend to fall back on what they know, as they often lack the foresight to embrace true phase changes in technology. We are currently seeing a historical standard deviation move in the GLD/BTC power law ratio, but hard assets are a long game.
While gold has this legacy, Bitcoin has shown technical stability at the protocol level for over fifteen years. Bitcoin is expected to eventually revert to the mean as the market realizes that digital scarcity is more effective than physical legacy. “
Transfer of Ownership (Mark Connors, Chief Investment Officer, Risk Dimensions)
“Zoom out is like 2025. If you zoom in, it provides a signal.” If you “zoom in,” Bitcoin does not pass the macro test relative to gold. It is currently limited by three internal forces that most observers ignore.
“This is not a demand issue; this is a supply distribution event. Institutional ETFs have had huge inflows, but they are not driving up prices; they are simply absorbing ten years of supply being dumped by early adopters. What we are seeing is a transfer of ownership, not a failure of interest.”
Technology Stock Issues (Charlie Morris, Chief Information Officer, ByteTree)
“Oddly enough, gold fans and Bitcoin gurus use the same rhetoric: limited supply, money printing, inflation, war, chaos, etc. But I believe gold is the reserve asset for the real world, and Bitcoin is the reserve asset for the digital world. The problem today is in the real world. Bitcoin didn’t fail, it just retreated with the decline of Internet stocks, which Bitcoin has been closely correlated with since its inception.”
Delayed rotation coming? (Peter Lane, CEO of Jacobi Asset Management)
“The ‘digital gold’ narrative doesn’t really hold up when tested. Bitcoin doesn’t behave like a true inflation hedge or safe haven during times of geopolitical stress and monetary uncertainty. Instead, gold and silver emerge as the overwhelming winners in 2025.
The mass market has long had a comfort level with precious metals, and Bitcoin has yet to earn that comfort. I still think we will eventually see a delayed rotation in Bitcoin, but for now investors are leaning toward what they know and trust. “
Another demand driver is needed (Anthony Pompliano, Chairman and CEO, ProCap Financial)
“Bitcoin has largely been an inflation hedge over the past five years, but with deflation likely on the horizon, Bitcoin will need to find other demand to continue driving the asset higher. I remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s future prospects, but recognize that the macro environment and Bitcoin market participants are evolving rapidly.”
A permanent solution to inflation? (David Parkinson – CEO Musquet, BtC Lightning Network)
The statement that “digital gold has failed” is premature. Bitcoin’s fixed supply and network growth continue to deliver outsized returns over many years compared to inflation, even surpassing gold. Bitcoin is now becoming the native monetary asset of the internet. It’s not a “hedge” against inflation – it’s a permanent solution. Gold and other traditional inflation hedge assets are enjoying their moment, and ultimately, Bitcoin outlives them.
Bitcoin’s Era Is Coming (Andre Dragosch – Bitwise)
“The thought is that the rally in precious metals is ultimately due to something you could call ‘muscle memory’ – in times of uncertainty, investors turn first to assets they are familiar with – which currently appears to be gold and silver.
To be fair, although Bitcoin has better store-of-value properties than gold, it is still considered a risk asset. But I’m very confident that once traditional hard assets inflate to outrageous levels and capital starts to move into more attractively valued assets like Bitcoin, Bitcoin will start to gain traction.
According to the relative Mayer multiple between Bitcoin and gold, Bitcoin has reached its highest level of FTX in 2022 relative to gold. Bitcoin is also significantly underpriced relative to the macro environment and global money supply levels in 2026, with upside issues likely to be resolved in the coming months.
Read more: Bitcoin in Deep Bear Market Relative to Gold, History Suggests Downside May Continue
