Is Bitcoin ‘no longer digital gold?’ Bloomberg analyst says NO! 

Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has defended Bitcoin as “digital gold,” regardless of its relative underperformance towards bodily gold final yr. 

Responding to Deutsche Financial institution strategist Marion Laboure’s BTC “not digital gold” remarks, Balchunas retorted, 

“This can be a high-quality argument to make, however to hinge it on one yr’s returns is absurd. Does that imply it was digital gold in 2023 and 2024 when it was up 450%? However now it isn’t as a result of gold did higher in 2025. Make it make sense.”

For the unfamiliar, BTC underperformance worsened after the October crash, and fears of a four-year cycle exacerbated the weak point into 2026.

The outcomes? BTC closed 2025 at a 6% loss, whereas gold posted an enormous 65% achieve – The very best annual return in over 10 years. 

Supply: Curve

When zoomed out, nevertheless, Balchunas’ argument is stable. Since 2012, BTC has solely underperformed gold throughout its bear market cycles. The pink years in 2014, 2018, and 2022 noticed gold outperform it by 50-70%. 

Nevertheless, over the remaining 10 years, BTC has outperformed gold, posting double to triple-digit positive aspects. 

Are ETF outflows dragging BTC?

The continuing muted demand from U.S Spot BTC ETFs has compounded the asset’s weak point over the previous few weeks. The ETF complicated demand turned negative final November, with the flows not recovering as of February 2026. 

Supply: BOLD Report

Quite the opposite, gold ETFs fell to zero in December however noticed renewed demand, boosting inflows to $10 billion. Until BTC ETF flows flip constructive and shut the hole with gold, the divergence would sign extra weak point for the crypto asset. 

Nevertheless, it’s not all gloom for BTC. Based on the BTC/gold ratio, a key indicator that tracks the crypto asset’s relative efficiency to gold, the continuing pullback is perhaps approaching a key assist. 

Supply: BTC/gold ratio, TradingView

Based on the ratio, BTC peaked in late 2024 after hitting 40 ounces of gold. And, the crypto’s bullish construction broke final October after it cracked beneath the trendline assist (white).

On the time of writing, the ratio was at 13 – Down almost 70% from its peak. This steered that gold has outperformed BTC by 70% since late 2024. 

Nevertheless, an analogous BTC/gold ratio pullback within the 2022 bear market eased close to 9, making it a key assist to be careful for a possible reversal. 

Closing Ideas

• Regardless of lagging behind gold in 2025, Bitcoin has dominated annual investor returns ten occasions since 2012.
• Weak ETF inflows have additional accelerated Bitcoin’s decoupling from gold.