Experienced trader Peter Brandt recently made a bold prediction about the price of Bitcoin (BTC), stating that the decentralized digital asset would see a massive 230% surge against gold. Brandt believes that the ratio of gold to BTC will fluctuate over the next 12-18 months before eventually reaching a new high of 100 ounces of gold per BTC.
While it remains to be seen whether Brandt’s prediction will come true, a comparison of the price histories of BTC and gold suggests that his comments are not unfounded or unrealistic. Since its inception, Bitcoin has been gaining ground against gold and finally surpassed the precious metal in terms of price in 2017. On December 17 of that year, Bitcoin reached its peak at $19,649.
On December 18, 2017, when gold resumed trading, the commodity was priced at $1,264 per ounce, with the daily candle closing at $1,261 per ounce. Based on these numbers, it took approximately 15.5 ounces of gold to buy 1 BTC.
Since then, the price of Bitcoin has consistently remained higher than that of gold, even during the lowest points of the 2018-2019 bear market when Bitcoin dropped to a low of around $3,126 in December 2018. In that same month, gold experienced an upward price movement but only reached a high of around $1,283 by December 31, 2018.
In 2020, gold had another bull run that was temporarily disrupted by the infamous March 2020 market drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected various assets including Bitcoin. By August 2020, gold had reached a new all-time high of around $2,075 per ounce due to fears of recession and runaway inflation in the investor community. During this time, Bitcoin traded sideways but reached levels around $12,341.
Both assets had a relatively poor performance in 2022 but managed to rebound in 2023. In May 2024, gold reached a new all-time high of approximately $2,449 per ounce and is currently trading at around $2,320 per ounce. Bitcoin, on the other hand, reached a high of around $74,000 before falling back to $67,210 at the time of writing. Based on current market prices, it would take roughly 29 ounces of gold to buy 1 BTC.
Overall, it is clear that Bitcoin has been steadily outperforming gold in terms of price, and Brandt’s prediction of a further surge in BTC against gold is not without merit.