Veteran trader Peter Brandt says he sees gold outperforming bitcoin in the period ahead.
In the long-running comparison between bitcoin Bitcoin and gold as competing stores of value, Brandt — CEO of Factor LLC and a widely followed technical analyst — has leaned in favor of the traditional metal.
Posting on X, he said he is considering selling part of his bitcoin holdings to buy gold, citing expectations that gold will deliver stronger relative performance.
“I am contemplating selling some of my Bitcoin and going to Gold with the money. Looks to me that Gold is going to gain substantially on Bitcoin,” he wrote.
Both assets have recently weakened, though bitcoin has seen a sharper decline. BTC fell about 20% in June, dropping below $60,000 and marking its worst monthly performance in four years. Gold slipped roughly 11.7% over the same period to near $4,000 per ounce.
The gap is more pronounced year-to-date, with bitcoin down around 28% in 2026 compared with a 3.9% decline for gold.
Contrarian positioning
Brandt’s view contrasts with the prevailing crypto narrative that expects bitcoin to rebound strongly after underperforming traditional assets.
That outlook is based on relative valuation, with bitcoin lagging equities, gold, and other major asset classes — often interpreted as a setup for a catch-up rally.
However, Brandt’s technical framework suggests that leadership may continue to favor gold instead.
Reading the XAU/BTC ratio
His analysis focuses on the XAU/BTC ratio, which prices gold in bitcoin terms.
Although bitcoin significantly outperformed gold for much of the past decade — driving the ratio lower — that trend has flattened since roughly 2019–2020, signaling a loss of downward momentum.
From a technical standpoint, this shift suggests the long-running bitcoin dominance over gold has weakened materially.
More recently, the ratio has begun to curve higher, forming what Brandt describes as a potential rounding bottom.
Macro implications
If the pattern continues, it could mark a broader regime shift in which gold starts to regain relative strength after years of bitcoin outperformance.
In that scenario, the expected capital rotation would still occur — but in the opposite direction: from bitcoin into gold, rather than from traditional assets into crypto.
