Gold’s massive rise in 2025 is capturing investor attention, with market veteran Ed Yardeni declaring it the “new bitcoin.”
Yardeni argued that gold has outperformed bitcoin as a safe-haven asset amidst growing geopolitical uncertainty.
“Bitcoin has been described as ‘digital gold,’ but we would describe gold as ‘physical bitcoin,’” Yardeni wrote, highlighting gold’s historical reliability compared with bitcoin’s shorter track record and risk-on behavior, Yardeni wrote in a Wednesday note from Yardeni Research reported by CNBC.
The numbers back up his claim. Gold has surged roughly 60% year-to-date, while bitcoin’s gains have been closer to 20%. In recent weeks, gold has rallied nearly 4%, while bitcoin has fallen 9%, and the Nasdaq has dipped almost 1%.
Gold is currently priced at over $4,200 an ounce. One year ago, it was roughly $2,600 an ounce.
The surge in gold today can be partially attributed to President Trump threatening China with “retribution” over trade, including a potential ban on Chinese cooking oil, amid longstanding tensions involving soybeans and other commodities.
The escalation raises U.S. economic uncertainty, boosting demand for gold as a safe-haven asset.
Yardeni: Bitcoin has liquidity strain
Yardeni attributed bitcoin’s decline to liquidity strains, with around $19 billion in recent liquidations in leveraged positions, forcing some auto-deleveraging and widening market spreads.
By contrast, gold climbed after President Donald Trump hinted at 100% tariffs against China, reflecting its role as a geopolitical hedge.
Yardeni sees gold pushing past $5,000 in 2026, potentially reaching $10,000 by decade’s end.
“Investors seeking protection from mounting geopolitical risks have been heading for the hills to mine for gold as well as silver,” he said.
Bitcoin has settled near $111,000 this week, following a record high above $126,000 and one of the market’s most violent corrections in years. The rally to all-time highs was driven by renewed institutional demand, falling real yields, and growing adoption of the “debasement trade,” as investors sought protection against monetary expansion.
The recovery came after a brutal weekend that wiped out over $19 billion in leveraged positions, forcing more than 1.6 million traders to liquidate in cascading margin calls.
Despite the turbulence, long-term holders remained steady, and metrics like Coin Days Destroyed suggested most selling came from new entrants capitulating at a loss. Bitcoin’s fundamentals, including hash rate, transaction throughput, and active addresses, continued to trend upward.
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