Bitcoin May Be Getting Ready to Snatch Gold's Crown

Bitcoin may be getting ready to snatch gold’s crown. Blockstream CEO Adam Back says the world's largest cryptocurrency could rival gold (CM:XAUUSD)

Bitcoin (BTC) may be getting ready to snatch gold’s crown. Blockstream CEO Adam Back says the world’s largest cryptocurrency could rival gold (CM:XAUUSD) as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty over the next decade. And despite Bitcoin’s recent dip from all-time highs, Back believes its scarcity and adoption curve give it the edge.

Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Back told

Cointelegraph

that monetary instability is accelerating global Bitcoin adoption.

“Bitcoin has the advantage of being like gold – it’s a scarce asset but also undergoing an adoption curve, and we’re seeing that in times of monetary instability, people are turning to Bitcoin.”

He also pointed out that inflation, in his view, is nowhere near the 2% rate policymakers love to project.

“The inflation rate is probably 10% or 15% which is an investment return that is very hard to get with stocks or housing rentals. So I think people are looking at Bitcoin for that 10%-15% inflation hedge.”

Experts Split on Bitcoin’s Inflation Hedge Status

Not everyone’s buying it. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, thinks Bitcoin is still a speculative asset.

“The reliability of crypto in terms of correlating with inflation? No, it doesn’t really. Not well,” Dalio said in a recent Investopedia interview. His go-to hedge is still gold, which he called the “third-largest reserve currency” behind the dollar and euro.

And JPMorgan (JPM) analysts say the recent flight to gold proves the point. In a note, the bank argued that “the sharp rise in gold prices highlights a stronger investor appetite for traditional safe havens,