Gold wins the debasement trade in 2025, but it is not the full story

Looking back on 2025, the sound money, or debasement trade, was decisively won by the metals over bitcoin. Gold delivered one of its best years on record, up 65%, while bitcoin so far is down 7%. Until August, the two assets had similar returns, both up roughly 30%. From that point, gold surged while bitcoin rolled over sharply. This divergence reinforced that gold won the debasement trade narrative leaving bitcoin firmly behind. Bitcoin remains in recovery mode after a 36% correction from its October ...