Gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) investors are taking a victory lap this year as crypto bulls are left in the dust.
On Friday, gold futures rose above $4,550 to hover at or near record highs, capping a year marked by more than 50 such records.
Meanwhile, silver also jumped over $75 per ounce, extending its year-to-date gains to 150% in a parabolic rally driven by concerns about physical shortages during a time of robust industrial demand. Platinum (PL=F) and copper (HG=F) have also soared to records this year.
Some investors have been quick to point out the divergence between the metals industry and cryptocurrency, which has been led by a sharp leg lower from bitcoin (BTC-USD) in recent weeks.
“With gold now up almost 70% in 2025 and most cryptocurrencies negative, the time has come for the crypto crowd to switch to gold, ” Louis Navellier, founder of Navellier & Associates, noted earlier this week.
Navellier points to central bank purchases, lower volatility, and improved liquidity in the gold market compared with cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile, gold bull Peter Schiff, a notorious critic of crypto, stated on X, “If Bitcoin won’t go up when tech stocks rise, and it won’t go up when gold and silver rise, when will it go up? The answer is: it won’t.”
The metals’ climb to all-time highs comes as crypto is on track to end the year in negative territory, with bitcoin trying to avoid a third consecutive losing month.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has diverged from stocks for the first time since 2014, despite a favorable regulatory environment and increasing crypto adoption on Wall Street.
The token has struggled to recover after long-term holders sold, and forced liquidations sent prices sliding roughly 30% from record highs near $126,000 in October to just over $87,000 on Friday.
Fundstrat’s head of digital assets Sean Farrell said he isn’t surprised that bitcoin has been trading in a tight range recently.
“Santa rallies are normally characterized by folks selling losers, buying winners into the year-end,” said Farrell in a client video earlier this week.
“I just think a lot of folks are not stepping in here to put on a lot of risk in an asset that has underperformed for the better part of the last couple of months,” he added.
The strategist said he believes there is a compelling setup for a bounce in January, as inflows are expected to increase from investors adopting bitcoin for their long-term portfolios.
“Assuming that December closes red … history does suggest that January will be green,” Farrell said.
