Gold vs Bitcoin Performance — Last 3 Years Side-by-Side Comparison

I have researched the full price history of gold and Bitcoin over the last three-plus years (January 2023 through today) to lay out, in plain numbers, how each one actually performed. This is a gold vs crypto comparison only — Sulivex does not sell either asset, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell. Every gold price and Bitcoin price figure below is approximate, pulled from public market data, and both markets move constantly, so treat these as snapshots rather than guarantees. Prices are indicative and may vary by exchange.

Gold's Performance, Year by Year

Gold started 2023 at roughly $1,824 per ounce. After comparing full-year data, here is how the gold spot price moved:

• 2023: Gold climbed from about $1,824 to around $2,062 by year-end, a gain of roughly 13%, as inflation concerns and a weaker dollar pushed investors toward safe-haven assets.
• 2024: Gold kept climbing, closing the year near $2,644 — up about 28% — supported by heavy central-bank buying and election-year uncertainty in the US.
• 2025–2026: This is where gold's move turned dramatic. The average price for 2025 alone was around $3,432, up roughly 44% from 2024, and gold broke $4,000 for the first time in October 2025. The rally continued into January 2026, when gold briefly touched an all-time high above $5,400 per ounce amid a US government-shutdown scare, expected Fed rate cuts, and continued institutional buying.

In my analysis, gold's volatility over this period was low compared to crypto — typical weekly moves stayed in the low single digits, even during the sharpest part of the 2025–2026 rally. Since its January 2026 peak, gold has eased back and is trading around $4,450 per ounce as of early September 2026, a pullback of roughly 20% from the all-time high, but still far above where it started in 2023.

Bitcoin's Performance, Year by Year

Bitcoin started 2023 at around $16,600. Here is what I found when comparing its year-by-year price:

• 2023: Bitcoin more than doubled, ending the year near $42,000 — a gain of roughly 153% — as the market recovered from the 2022 crash and optimism grew around a possible spot Bitcoin ETF.
• 2024: A landmark year. Spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in the US, the fourth halving occurred, and Bitcoin broke $100,000 for the first time in December, closing the year near $93,000 — up roughly 121%.
• 2025–2026: Bitcoin pushed to a new all-time high above $126,000 in October 2025, driven by continued ETF inflows and the launch of a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. It then pulled back sharply through late 2025 and into 2026 amid ETF outflows and macro uncertainty.

Bitcoin's volatility was far higher than gold's throughout this period — double-digit daily swings were common, in both directions. As of early September 2026, Bitcoin trades around $77,500, down roughly 38% from its October 2025 peak. Other major cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, followed a broadly similar pattern of a 2024–2025 rally followed by a 2026 pullback, though with their own timing and magnitude.

Gold vs Bitcoin: A Direct Comparison

Putting the two side by side, using the same approximate start and end points:

By total percentage gain, Bitcoin has far outpaced gold over this three-plus-year window. By stability, gold is well ahead — its worst drawdown from a peak was roughly half the size of Bitcoin's. In USD, EUR, and GBP terms the story is broadly similar, since both assets are priced globally in dollars first; the exact percentage gain in euros or pounds will shift slightly with currency movements, which is exactly why Sulivex's calculator lets you check the live converted value in your own currency rather than relying on a fixed USD figure.

Frequently asked questions

How did gold perform over the three years covered in this article? Gold started 2023 at roughly $1,824 per ounce, climbed to around $2,062 by year-end 2023 (about 13%), closed 2024 near $2,644 (up about 28%), broke $4,000 for the first time in October 2025, briefly touched an all-time high above $5,400 per ounce in January 2026, and was trading around $4,450 per ounce as of early September 2026. All figures are approximate snapshots, not guarantees.

How did Bitcoin perform over the same period? Bitcoin started 2023 at around $16,600, ended 2023 near $42,000 (a gain of roughly 153%), closed 2024 near $93,000 (up roughly 121%) after spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in the US and the fourth halving, pushed to a new all-time high above $126,000 in October 2025, and was trading around $77,500 as of early September 2026, down roughly 38% from its October 2025 peak.

How did their volatility compare? Gold's volatility over this period was low compared with crypto: typical weekly moves stayed in the low single digits, even during the sharpest part of the 2025-2026 rally. Bitcoin's volatility was far higher throughout: double-digit daily swings were common, in both directions.

My Take and Conclusion

After comparing three-plus years of data side by side, I have found that Bitcoin delivered the larger total gain, but gold delivered the smoother ride. Neither result is surprising: Bitcoin is a newer, smaller, and more speculative market, so it moves further in both directions, while gold's multi-thousand-year role as a store of value keeps its swings comparatively mild. Long-term, both assets trended strongly upward over this period; short-term, both have gone through double-digit percentage drops that would have tested any holder's patience. Which one "did better" depends entirely on what you were measuring — raw return, or how much stress you were willing to sit through to get it. I am not telling you to hold either one; I am simply showing what the numbers actually did.

Written by Zakria Ahmad

Founder, Sulivex — September 5, 2026