Open this year's asset ranking, and the scene is a bit eye-catching: spot gold skyrocketed to $4,500 per ounce, with an annual increase of over 70%, while Bitcoin at the $88,000 level is weak and only up about 15%. Many people in the crypto circle have begun to doubt themselves, asking, "Where did the story of 'digital gold' go wrong?"

But there's a very easy-to-overlook key point here: gold and Bitcoin are not fighting the same battle at all.

Looking at this round of gold market movement, on the surface, it’s about safe-haven logic, but in reality, it reflects something deeper — global central banks are stockpiling gold at an unprecedented speed. Since 2025, central banks around the world have been cutting interest rates in unison, indicating a shift in trust within the global financial system. When a major country can freeze other nations’ foreign exchange reserves, world leaders are asking the same question: only the gold stored in their own vaults truly belongs to them. Gold may not generate interest, but it won't evaporate due to a government decree.

According to the World Gold Council, the total value of physical gold held by investors and central banks is about $5.1 trillion, not including gold in jewelry form. Behind this surge is a silent redistribution of sovereign credit.

And what about Bitcoin? It’s still struggling in the liquidity game. These are two completely different narratives, and using percentage increases to compare them is asking the wrong question.