The performance of bitcoin better than that of gold

In recent times, the price performance of bitcoin has been better than that of gold. 

For example in the year of the pandemic, 2020, the price of gold went from $1,552 to $1,898 per ounce, or a gain of 22% in one year. 

In the same period, BTC went from $7,200 to $28,800, or a gain of 300%. 

In contrast, the previous year, 2019, had closed with +20% for gold, and with +89% for bitcoin. 

Therefore, it has been at least two years since bitcoin’s performance beat that of gold. However, it is also true that 2018 was a terrible year for BTC, although it came in the wake of a pyrotechnic 2017. 

In other words, over the past 4 years, bitcoin’s annual price performance has dominated that of gold three times, and BTC’s overall performance over the four years has been mind-blowing. 

In light of this, it’s not all that surprising to see the result of bitFlyer’s survey that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are currently the fourth most popular asset among investors, even twice as popular as gold, while 30% of Americans surveyed think it will be an attractive investment for 2021. 

Bitcoin vs gold: the performance of 2021

On the other hand, 2021 also started with a performance of bitcoin significantly higher than that of gold: +55% for BTC so far, and even -4% for the precious metal. 

According to the same survey in the US at least 22% of respondents have invested in cryptocurrencies at least once in their lifetime, which is more than four times higher than in Japan.

Even among respondents who have heard about cryptocurrencies, in the US 76% have a positive perception, while in Japan it is the exact opposite.

In other words, at least on the financial markets, bitcoin is nibbling away gold’s market share as an investment, and this is happening especially in the US, which is the world’s largest financial market. 

This phenomenon could be a kind of maturity test for cryptocurrencies as an asset class, especially as millennials enter the financial markets en masse. Indeed, for many digital natives, the future itself is digital, decentralized and tokenized.