Peter Schiff Triumphs: How Gold Won in 2025 While Bitcoin Lagged Behind

Economist and financial commentator Peter Schiff has seen his long-term predictions about precious metals in 2025 confirmed. After years of warning about monetary depreciation and the weakness of the US dollar, gold finally captured investors’ attention, outperforming digital alternatives that promised to revolutionize the global monetary system.

Gold Shines: 50% Return in 2025

Gold’s performance in 2025 has been spectacular. The precious metal generated returns exceeding 50%, establishing itself as the star asset of the year and marking its best performance in over a decade. This rally peaked in October, approaching $4,400 per ounce, a historic level reflecting growing investor concern over global debt levels, erosion of purchasing power, and the accelerated weakening of the US dollar, which suffered its worst performance in many years.

The financial community dubbed this phenomenon the “devaluation operation” or “debaser trade,” a term that went viral to capture collective anxiety over expansive monetary policies and their impact on the real value of money. By the end of the year, gold’s price stabilized around $4,000 per ounce, remaining at record levels.

Bitcoin Loses the Race: The Reality of Comparison

While gold dominated the market, Bitcoin unexpectedly lagged behind. Gold’s performance outpaced Bitcoin by a ratio of 8 to 1 during 2025. This gap has widened even further recently: over the one-year period from January 2025 to January 2026, Bitcoin records a decline of 25.56%, while gold maintains its accumulated gains and its supremacy as a store of value.

This divergence is particularly significant because, ironically, it was precisely the environment of monetary depreciation and dollar weakening—conditions that the Bitcoin community had argued for years would validate cryptocurrency adoption—that ultimately benefited the traditional asset.

Peter Schiff Vindicates His Skepticism: The Gold Advocate Is Right

Peter Schiff emerges as the figure validated by these market events. For years, the economist was a prominent critic of Bitcoin, questioning its utility as a store of value and consistently promoting gold as the superior alternative during times of monetary instability. While other financial observers were surprised by the relative performance of both assets, Schiff’s stance was reinforced with each market data point.

For Peter Schiff, 2025 confirmed a long-held argument: that gold, with centuries of credibility as a store of value, possesses superior attributes compared to a digital currency of just over 15 years. His views on debt cycles, monetary erosion, and the need for inflation protection have been supported by the numbers.

The Narrative Changes: Traditional Safe Havens vs Digital Assets

The events of 2025 illustrate a significant evolution in how global markets understand capital protection. The narrative that Bitcoin would completely replace traditional safe havens has been nuanced by market reality. While both assets offer protection in contexts of monetary weakening, gold demonstrated greater effectiveness in translating that protection into real gains for investors.

This does not mean Bitcoin has lost its value or its role in diversified portfolios, but rather reflects a more pragmatic acceptance of the different roles that conventional and digital assets can play. The monetary and debt crisis that fueled the “debaser trade” primarily benefited those who have historically been the response to these concerns: gold.

For Peter Schiff, these results validate decades of economic analysis and an unwavering conviction in traditional monetary principles, positioning him as an increasingly influential voice in a market that recognizes the limits of purely digital solutions compared to macroeconomic fundamentals.