Bitcoin · Spot History
BTC/USD · Quotes delayed up to 5 minutesBitcoin’s price history across its full trading existence. Bitcoin has gone from sub-dollar values in 2009 to multi-year highs above $100,000 — a return profile unlike any traditional asset class. For investors thinking about hard-money alternatives to fiat currency, Bitcoin is increasingly impossible to ignore. The chart is included in The Gold Window not because Bitcoin is precious metals but because the conversation about precious metals now invariably involves Bitcoin.
Analyst's Note
Bitcoin’s correlation with gold has been low and time-varying. In some periods (2020–2021, 2023 banking stress) the two assets moved together; in others (2018, 2022) they diverged sharply. For the analytical investor, Bitcoin and gold are best understood as complementary rather than competing: Bitcoin offers higher upside, higher drawdown risk, and a much shorter track record; gold offers lower volatility and a multi-millennial track record. Most thoughtful hard-money allocators size Bitcoin at a fraction of their gold allocation — typically 10–25% of the gold sleeve — reflecting the volatility differential and the maturity differential. The chart serves the conversation rather than dominates it.
Bitcoin’s price history across its full trading existence. Bitcoin has gone from sub-dollar values in 2009 to multi-year highs above $100,000 — a return profile unlike any traditional asset class. For investors thinking about hard-money alternatives to fiat currency, Bitcoin is increasingly impossible to ignore. The chart is included in The Gold Window not because Bitcoin is precious metals but because the conversation about precious metals now invariably involves Bitcoin.
Analyst's Note
Bitcoin’s correlation with gold has been low and time-varying. In some periods (2020–2021, 2023 banking stress) the two assets moved together; in others (2018, 2022) they diverged sharply. For the analytical investor, Bitcoin and gold are best understood as complementary rather than competing: Bitcoin offers higher upside, higher drawdown risk, and a much shorter track record; gold offers lower volatility and a multi-millennial track record. Most thoughtful hard-money allocators size Bitcoin at a fraction of their gold allocation — typically 10–25% of the gold sleeve — reflecting the volatility differential and the maturity differential. The chart serves the conversation rather than dominates it.
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