Gold prices surged past $4,400 per ounce on December 22, 2025, setting a new all-time high. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is currently down 29.5% from its historical price peak.
Bitcoin's underperformance compared to gold has raised concerns among many experts that speculative assets may be entering a prolonged decline.
The rise of precious metals accelerated as the prices of gold, silver, and platinum surged simultaneously.
Gold continued its upward trend today, hitting a new record high of $4,409 per ounce at the beginning of the Asian trading session. At the time of writing, the gold price has adjusted to $4,403 per ounce. At the same time, gold futures also peaked at $4,415 per ounce.
The upward trend is not only limited to gold. Precious metals as a group are also experiencing significant price increases. Silver prices have also climbed to a new high of $69.4 per ounce.
"Silver prices are currently setting new records daily and have increased by 140% just in 2025. Technical analysis is no longer important, as we have witnessed 8 consecutive months of increases," the account The Kobeissi Letter shared.
Platinum has also joined the price rally and reached its highest level in many years. This metal is only 4.5% away from its all-time high.
"Prices have exceeded $2,040 per ounce. The current increase is very strong and indicates that this is a real breakout rather than a short-term bounce. After being outpaced by gold and silver for most of the cycle, platinum has now begun to catch up, signaling renewed interest in the precious metals group and the trend of capital flow toward undervalued assets," analyst Mario Nawfal commented.
Bitcoin underperformed in 2025, while silver and gold led in returns.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin still appears to lag behind. In the past 24 hours, the world's largest cryptocurrency has only increased by about 0.89%.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $88,890, down about 29.5% from its previous peak. This price movement puts significant pressure on long-term investors, causing profits to continue to decline sharply.
Since the beginning of 2025, Bitcoin has dropped nearly 5%. Meanwhile, traditional assets have recorded strong gains. According to the latest data, silver prices have risen by 138%, while gold has increased nearly 68% during the same period.
Market expert Charlie Bilello pointed out that since January 2024, when the first Bitcoin ETF launched, gold has outperformed Bitcoin by 19%.
"Bitcoin is the reason many people do not buy gold or silver. It is unfortunate that they will lose most of their money in Bitcoin instead of earning more in precious metals," economist Peter Schiff commented.
Stock indices are also outperforming Bitcoin this year, with Nasdaq up 20.8%, S&P 500 up 16.4%, and Russell 2000 up 13.4%.
A market observer noted that the continuous new highs in gold prices as the year ends indicate that investors still prioritize capital preservation and selectively shift to risky assets. According to this expert, times when gold rises alongside stock indices often reflect investors' optimism but still cautiousness.
"This context explains why BTC Bitcoin is moving sideways in a price range without breaking out strongly," the article commented.
Analysts note that the change in ratio is a warning sign for risky assets.
Bitcoin's continued underperformance not only affects market sentiment but may also have larger implications. Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, believes that the Bitcoin/gold ratio is an important indicator. According to him,
"If the S&P 500 records its third consecutive year of decline since 2008 in 2026, then the number of ounces of the oldest store of value will be highly valued as a leading indicator compared to speculative digital assets."
McGlone pointed out that the Bitcoin to gold ratio is currently hovering near a crucial technical support level around 20 times, based on the December 19 chart.
"What prevents this ratio from returning to the average of about 5 times? The fact is that the Bitcoin/gold ratio has not changed since 2020 and has decreased even though the stock market remains stable, which may signal the end of the growth cycle for high-risk assets. A condition for the Bitcoin/gold ratio to rise in the past was often that stock prices also increased. In my view, this indicator is leading into a deflationary period after inflation, which could put significant pressure on the stock market to continue rising," McGlone added.
Nevertheless, some market investors hold a more optimistic view on Bitcoin's prospects. One analyst suggested that gold is overbought, hinting that the flow of money may gradually shift from precious metals to Bitcoin.
"The BTC/XAU ratio has dropped to around 20 ounces of gold, the lowest since early 2024. The weekly RSI is at 29.5, close to the lowest level in the past 3 years, which is often a sign of a long-term bottom for BTC against gold. We see a bullish divergence signal, indicating a potential short-term rebound when gold seems overvalued while BTC is undervalued," Web3 Vibes explained.
It is still unclear whether Bitcoin can close the gap with gold. The coming months will show whether McGlone's concerns are valid or if the risk appetite for speculative assets will recover. Currently, gold is still outperforming its digital counterpart by a large margin.
