Are Gold And Silver The New Bitcoin? Why Precious Metals Are Teaching An Unforgiving Lesson
Gold and silver are teaching a hard lesson to a generation of investors raised on tech stocks, meme names and digital coins.
Over the past 12 months, gold has rallied roughly 95%, while silver has surged more than 270% — moves more commonly associated with high-flying cryptocurrencies than with metals often dismissed as relics or old-fashioned.
In sheer scale, the rally is even more striking. Gold and silver now command a combined market capitalization of roughly $43 trillion — with gold at nearly $37 trillion and silver above $6 trillion — ranking as the first and second largest assets in the world by market value.
By comparison, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ranks 10th, with a market capitalization near $1.6 trillion.
Veteran Wall Street investor Ed Yardeni posed an ironic question in a Thursday note: “Is gold the new Bitcoin?”
The tape suggests another one: Is silver too?
The contrast with Bitcoin is where the metals rally looks most unforgiving, as markets seem to reaffirm who truly leads when trust in traditional monetary systems breaks down.
Bitcoin vs. Metals: A Brutal Comparison
World’s Biggest Assets By Market Cap As Of January 29, 2026
| Rank | Name | Market Cap | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gold | $36.990 T | $5,320 |
| 2 | Silver | $6.349 T | $112.79 |
| 3 | NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) | $4.608 T | $189.29 |
| 4 | Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) | $4.025 T | $333.47 |
| 5 | Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) | $3.788 T | $256.39 |
| 6 | Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) | $3.155 T | $424.56 |
| 7 | Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) | $2.560 T | $239.53 |
| 8 | Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) | $1.844 T | $731.96 |
| 9 | TSMC (NASDAQ:TSM) | $1.748 T | $337.06 |
| 10 | Bitcoin | $1.699 T | $85,199 |
Bitcoin Tumbled In Gold And Silver Terms
A year ago, one bitcoin could buy about 38 ounces of gold. Today, it buys fewer than 16.
That is a 58% collapse in gold terms.
Against silver, the picture looks even harsher.
In January 2025, one bitcoin bought roughly 3,350 ounces of silver. Today, it buys about 731.
That’s a 79% collapse in silver terms.
Those figures alone should give investors pause.
But the real question isn’t just how much gold and silver have risen compared to Bitcoin — it’s why they have done so.
A Monetary Moment Of Historic Proportions
Beyond the numbers themselves lies the real question: why has this paradigm shift occurred now?
The answer sits at the intersection of fiscal excess, political …
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