“Gold is old”: Is Bitcoin about to eat gold’s lunch?

It’s fair to say gold has been the breakout investment of 2025 so far.

With prices hitting record highs and investors literally queueing around the block to buy it, gold has once again proven itself as the go-to safe haven asset when things get too uncomfortable.

But there’s another alternative asset that’s quietly edging towards all-time highs of its own and arguably offers more future upside than gold.

Bitcoin is now above US$100,000 for the first time since early February, off a recent low of US$75,000 after tariffs and the trade war spooked the markets.

And if the macroeconomic environment eases in light of softening stances in the US-China trade war, it could be bitcoin that is better positioned to benefit.

Where gold shines in times of uncertainty like we’ve had recently, bitcoin is more responsive to changes in monetary policy.

As Bridget Nichols, COO at Monochrome Asset Management, puts it, bitcoin “thrives when liquidity expands and confidence in fiat weakens, making it more sensitive to macro conditions than gold.”

With central banks around the world predicted to aggressively cut rates this year (with many already doing so), bitcoin could be a compelling alternative for investors looking to diversify away from equities but still targeting growth.

The performance of bitcoin has been strongly correlated with the total M2 money supply, which tracks the total value of liquid assets, including cash, savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). 

In fact, the M2 supply has been an uncannily accurate leading indicator for bitcoin's price movements.

Bitcoin vs M2 Money Supply

Bitcoin surged during the last period of major fiscal stimulus - during the Covid-19 pandemic - and with Europe, China and even the US likely to increase monetary supply, it could again be bitcoin’s time in the sun.

“The macro environment - characterised by persistent inflation, low real interest rates, and currency devaluation - reinforces the case for bitcoin. Its non-sovereign, fixed-supply nature makes it a credible alternative for preserving value,” says Nichols.  

Gold is old

Gold is arguably the asset with the longest continuous trading history in world history. 

It is a known quantity, which is why it has prospered as a medium of exchange, a currency, and a safe haven over many years. 

But that could change. 

Cryptocurrencies are the first genuinely new asset class in over a century, and better capture the zeitgeist of an increasingly digitised world.

By comparison, gold is stuck in the past.

“Unlike gold, which is a traditional hedge, bitcoin offers asymmetric upside due to its adoption curve and potential for further institutional integration. It is a more dynamic store of value that aligns with the digital economy,” Nichols said. 

Part of the appeal of bitcoin for retail investors is its chameleon-like quality. It can be many different things to many different people. 

“Bitcoin has had varying narratives since its inception, ranging from ‘unstoppable internet money’ to ‘inflation hedge’,” she said. 

According to a survey by the deVere Group, 77% of investors under the age of 40 would prefer to add bitcoin to their portfolio over gold.

In the US, more Americans now own bitcoin than gold, according to a presentation at the recent Strategy (NYSE: MSTR) World 2025 conference. 

The recent proliferation of cryptocurrency ETFs has also made the asset more accessible to millions of investors, removing one of the b iggest hurdles to wider adoption. 

US$2.9 billion was put into US-listed bitcoin ETFs in April, with almost US$1 billion flowing into Blackrock’s iShare Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on April 28th alone. 

These ETFs now collectively account for more than 5% of bitcoin’s total supply, with a total value around US$140 billion.

Closer to home, a number of Australian-listed bitcoin ETFs, including the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (CBOE: IBTC), have attracted more than $150 million in total inflows so far this year.

While that pales in significance to the hundreds of billions invested in gold ETFs, it shows there is appetite for bitcoin on a level few would have seriously predicted five years ago. 

The rise of suitcoining

Institutional adoption of bitcoin has long been seen as one of the holy grails for early adopters. 

While there have been a few false dawns, institutions are no longer entirely dismissive of bitcoin, and many are now along for the ride. 

“The role of digital currency in traditional finance is changing." - Bridget Nichols

The rise of institutional interest has even spawned a neologism - "suitcoining" - which is when institutions extoll the virtues of bitcoin as they would any other investment. 

No one better encapsulates this than Michael Saylor, who turned his software company Strategy (nee MicroStrategy) into the world’s first bitcoin treasury company.

After multiple rounds of aggressive capital raises in order to buy more bitcoin, it now holds more than 568,000 BTC. 

Its share price has also surged from a low of US$16 in 2022 to over US$400. 

Saylor has become effectively a full-time bitcoin evangelist, looking to convert other institutions to the cause. 

At the recent Strategy conference, Fidelity Digital Assets' Chris Kuiper even made the argument that companies that couldn’t generate a return of 65% on invested capital may as well invest in bitcoin. 

The US even has its first self-professed "crypto president" in Donald Trump, after the previous administration took a noticeably adversarial approach to the industry. 

It's safe to say bitcoin has achieved a level of legitimacy that now makes it hard to ignore.