2025’s gold rush strengthens the case for bitcoin: Ark Invest

ARK Investment Management released data Monday detailing a significant performance gap between gold and bitcoin throughout 2025.

Gold prices appreciated 65% during 2025 while the price of bitcoin declined 6%, according to the data. Ark Investment noted that despite the decline in 2025, bitcoin has increased 360% since the end of the US equity bear market in October 2022. Gold prices rose 166% during that same period from roughly $1,600 to $4,300 per ounce.

The firm attributed the long-term rise in gold prices partially to global wealth creation outpacing supply. Global gold supply increases at an annualized rate of approximately 1.8%. The report stated that higher gold prices incentivize miners to boost production where possible.

Bitcoin operates under a mathematically fixed supply schedule that does not respond to price increases. The cryptocurrency’s supply is currently increasing at an annualized rate of roughly 0.82% for the next two years before decelerating to 0.41% upon the next block subsidy halving event.

The research note also evaluated the valuation of gold relative to the M2 money supply. The ratio of the gold market capitalization to M2 recently surpassed peaks observed during the inflation of the 1980s. Ark Investment indicated the only other comparable period for this valuation level occurred during the Great Depression in the early 1930s.

The analysis examined portfolio diversification and correlation metrics for cryptocurrencies. Data from 2020 through early 2026 indicates a 0.14 correlation between bitcoin and gold returns. This figure is lower than the 0.27 correlation observed between the S&P 500 and bonds.

Header image by Kanchanara via Unsplash.