Key Takeaways
- Nearly 1 in 5 crypto investors sold digital assets for gold, according to MarketWise.
- Rapid growth in blockchain-based gold highlights demand for stability, though critics continue to push back.
- Despite underperforming metals in 2025, Bitcoin is gaining traction as a potential geopolitical asset.
A growing number of crypto investors are turning to gold — including blockchain-based versions of the metal — as volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty reshape portfolio strategies, according to new industry data.
While crypto markets have expanded sharply in recent years, a parallel surge in tokenized gold amid economic uncertainty has suggested an interesting shift could be occurring.
At the same time, Bitcoin may be carving out a separate role, with some figureheads increasingly viewing it as a potential geopolitical alternative to traditional systems.
Crypto Investors Rotate Toward Tokenized Gold
A survey by MarketWise of 1,000 U.S. investors with exposure to digital assets found that nearly one in five (18%) sold or reduced crypto holdings over the past year to buy gold instead.
The move appears driven largely by risk concerns.
About 27% of respondents cited volatility as the primary reason for reallocating between crypto and gold, while 18% pointed to inflation fears.
Losses have also weighed on investor confidence.
More than half (56%) of digital asset investors reported losing over 20% on crypto investments, compared with just 11% who experienced similar losses in gold.
However, despite the shift, investors are not abandoning crypto entirely.
On average, portfolios still hold nearly three times more crypto than gold, and 41% of respondents said they plan to increase crypto exposure over the next year.
Still, gold retains a clear advantage in perceived safety.
Around 60% of respondents said they would trust gold over Bitcoin in a financial emergency, while only 13% favored Bitcoin.
Long-term confidence also diverged sharply, with 73% expecting gold to hold value over the next century versus 19% for Bitcoin.
Tokenized Gold Market Expands Rapidly
The shift toward gold is also playing out in digital markets, where tokenized gold — blockchain-based tokens backed by physical bullion — is gaining traction.
According to fintech firm D24, the tokenized gold market grew from $1.9 billion in 2025 to $7.13 billion in 2026, with trading volumes reaching $178 billion.
The firm said the growth reflects rising interest in real-world asset tokenization and broader institutional experimentation.
“On-chain gold comes with a host of benefits allowing 24-hour trading and fractional ownership,” D24 said, adding that such products are increasingly being used for hedging.
However, the model introduces new risks.
Investors must rely on custodians to hold the underlying metal, and regulatory frameworks remain uneven across jurisdictions, D24 said.
Tokenized Gold Skepticism From Crypto Purists
Not everyone in the crypto industry is convinced.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has publicly criticized tokenized gold, arguing that it undermines key decentralization principles.
Highlighting the third parties needed for it to work, he dismissed the concept as a “trust me, bro” model.
“Tokenizing gold is NOT ‘on chain’ gold,” Zhao wrote on X last year.
“It’s tokenizing that you trust some third party will give you gold at some later date… even after their management changes, maybe decades later,” he said.
Why Tokenized Gold Has Struggled to Scale
Attempts to merge blockchain technology with physical gold have repeatedly fallen short of mainstream adoption, despite growing interest in real-world asset tokenization.
According to CCN analyst Valdrin Tahiri comments from October, the sector lacks both accessibility and a dominant product.
“One major reason tokenized gold hasn’t gained widespread traction is its limited accessibility and lack of a single dominant product, unlike the stablecoin market, where USDT and USDC set the standard,” Tahiri said.
He pointed to PAX Gold (PAXG) as the closest contender, noting that the token is actively traded on decentralized exchanges.
Tahiri added that a number of centralized exchanges, including Bybit and Kraken, have launched their own gold-linked products, but the ecosystem remains fragmented across platforms.
“Until a unified, widely adopted standard emerges or liquidity deepens across multiple networks, tokenized gold will likely remain a niche asset class rather than a mainstream on-chain commodity,” he said.
Gold Advocates Push Back on Bitcoin
Meanwhile, prominent gold advocates continue to promote bullion — and increasingly tokenized versions of it — as a superior store of value to crypto.
Investor Peter Schiff, a long-time critic of Bitcoin, has argued that digital assets lack a tangible foundation and are driven largely by sentiment.
He has said Bitcoin’s price depends on “hope and fear” and lacks a “physical anchor,” while gold benefits from a long history as a monetary asset and inflation hedge.
Schiff has also questioned the logic of fiat-backed stablecoins, suggesting that if investors are willing to rely on custodians, they would likely prefer tokens backed by gold rather than currencies.
“If you’re going to introduce a third-party custodian… why settle for a token backed by a flawed fiat currency like the dollar, when you can own one backed by gold?” he wrote on X.
Metals Outperform Crypto in 2025
The renewed interest in gold follows a year in which precious metals significantly outperformed Bitcoin.
In 2025, gold rose nearly 70% and silver surged about 150%, while Bitcoin ended the year down roughly 6% after retreating from a peak above $126,000.
CCN’s education team previously attributed the divergence to a macroeconomic environment dominated by what some called the “debasing trade.”
The debasing trade is a shift towards assets seen as reliable stores of value amid inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.
Gold benefited from central bank demand and expectations of lower interest rates, while Bitcoin behaved more like a risk-sensitive asset influenced by liquidity conditions.
The contrast has challenged the narrative of Bitcoin as “digital gold,” particularly during periods of market stress.
Bitcoin Finds Support in Geopolitical Turmoil
More recent market moves, however, suggest some investors are beginning to reassess Bitcoin’s role during geopolitical shocks.
Since US and Israeli airstrikes from the end of February, Bitcoin has risen, at times outperforming both traditional safe havens and risk assets over the same period.
The rebound has prompted some crypto investors to argue that Bitcoin may be starting to behave less like a speculative technology asset and more like a politically neutral store of value.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said the shift may reflect a broader change in how the market is valuing Bitcoin.
In a post on X on April 14, he said investors were increasingly showing how it could eventually serve as an apolitical currency outside the traditional financial system.
Hougan linked that thesis to what he described as the growing “weaponization” of financial infrastructure.
Referring to Russia’s removal from the SWIFT network in 2022, he wrote: “I mused at the time that the weaponization of SWIFT might one day open up space for Bitcoin.”
He added: “If countries grew reluctant to deal in dollars, it stood to reason that they might prefer an apolitical alternative at some point.”
This argument has gained fresh attention during tensions involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has indicated it may impose a fee of about $1 per barrel on oil shipments passing through the waterway and suggested payment could be made in Bitcoin.
Crypto author Jesse Tevelow said on X that the symbolism mattered as much as the policy.
“Whether this proposal ultimately materializes or not is secondary. The signal itself is what matters,” he wrote.
While it does not erase the case for gold, which remains the more established haven during periods of macroeconomic stress, it does suggest Bitcoin may be carving out a different role.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
