Bitcoin trails gold and copper, as 'fear and AI' trade lifts tangible assets
DEC 23, 2025
Gold and copper have outperformed other major assets this year, with gold rallying more than copper.
While gold and copper have led global asset performance in 2025 — up 70% and 35% respectively — bitcoin is down 6%, prompting questions about its role as both a safe haven and a technology asset. Analysts point to the absence of sovereign buying as a key drag, with central banks continuing to favour gold as their hard asset of choice while BTC remains more reliant on retail and institutional investors.
Re7 Capital Portfolio Manager Lewis Harland takes a constructive view, noting that gold has historically led bitcoin by roughly 26 weeks, and that BTC's current consolidation mirrors gold's pause last summer before its renewed surge. He argues the cryptocurrency is building energy rather than signalling weakness — and that the longer it consolidates, the more explosive the eventual move tends to be as the currency debasement trade accelerates into 2026.
The broader market picture reflects a flight to tangibility: gold's outperformance over even copper signals that fears of fiscal and systemic strain are outweighing optimism about AI-driven growth.
For the full article, read here: CoinDesk
