Gold Hit New ATH on Friday, Bitcoin Did Not: Which Has Performed Better in 2024?

The precious metal has had a highly impressive year, having surged by about 27% and tapping a new all-time high just on Friday.

However, does this impressive YTD increase mean that it has done better than bitcoin, which is far from its ATH?

Gold Dominates 2024

Perhaps driven by the overall macroeconomic situation, with a few wars breaking out, uncertainty about numerous election cycles, purchases from emerging market central banks, or other reasons, the yellow metal has been at the forefront of price rallies in 2024. It entered the year at $2,065/oz, but it quickly started appreciating against the greenback.

The culmination came yesterday when it skyrocketed to $2,622 to tap a new all-time high, which meant that it had gained 27% of value since January 1. Its price movements against other currencies like the euro or the British pound are quite similar.

XAUUSD Year-to-Date. Source: TradingView

But that’s not all. Experts believe its climb is far from over. Goldman Sachs’ recent research reads that gold could go further, to about $2,700 in the next few months, especially if the US imposes new financial sanctions against other countries following the elections. The US debt burden is another factor that could boost its price.

“Gold is our strategists’ preferred near-term long (the commodity they most expect to go up in the short term), and it’s also their preferred hedge against geopolitical and financial risks.” – reads Goldman’s memo.

Citing several other experts, CBS reported that gold is poised to have a bullish October due to the recent interest rate cut by the US Fed.

What About Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has a controversial stand in global economics. Believers see it as the natural replacement of gold, since it has many of its merits but operates in the digital world. Critics claim that it’s too volatile and its short history puts it more toward the side of riskier assets rather than gold, which has existed since the dinosaurs. Or maybe it’s something in the middle.

Nevertheless, BTC has also been on a bull run this year. It traded at approximately $42,200 on January 1 and shot up to a new all-time high less than three months later of nearly $74,000.

Although it lost a lot of ground in the following months, even dipping below $50,000 on a few occasions, it now trades at $63,000. This means that even though it’s more than ten grand away from its ATH in March, its 2024 rally has posted gains of roughly 50% – or nearly double those of gold. So, despite the yellow metal’s highly impressive year, perhaps its best yet, BTC has still performed better, for now at least.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart Year-to-Date. Source: TradingView