The gap between how investors feel about gold and Bitcoin has rarely been this wide. Gold’s fear and greed index sat at 72 out of 100 — deep in greed territory — while the top crypto’s equivalent reading hit 18 out of 100, a level classified as extreme fear.
For macroeconomist Lyn Alden, that gap tells a story worth paying attention to.
A Contrarian Bet On Bitcoin’s Next Two To Three Years
Alden, speaking on the New Era Finance podcast this week, said that if she had to choose between the two assets for the period ahead, she’d pick Bitcoin.
“Gun to my head, if I had to say which one I think outperforms, I would say Bitcoin,” she said.
Gold has climbed hard. Bitcoin has fallen far. She sees a pendulum between the two, and right now it has swung well in gold’s favor. That, she argued, sets up a potential reversal.
Gold reached a record high of around $5,608 per ounce in January. Bitcoin, by contrast, is sitting roughly 44% below its own peak of $126,000, reached last October.
The divergence in price performance mirrors the divergence in investor mood. Alden acknowledged gold’s run but stopped short of calling it a bubble.
Sentiment around it is “somewhat euphoric,” she said, while the mood around Bitcoin has turned what she described as unfairly negative.
She was careful not to overclaim. Both assets can rise at the same time. Both can fall. She does not treat the relationship between them as fixed or predictable with certainty. But pressed to make a call, she made one.
BTCUSD trading at $70,274 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView
Gold’s Strength Could Be Bitcoin’s Opportunity
The backdrop to Alden’s comments is a broader debate about which asset deserves the title of reliable store of value.
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has come down firmly on gold’s side. Speaking publicly this week, Dalio described gold as the most established form of money and pointed to its standing as the second-largest reserve asset held by central banks worldwide.
Image: OSL
He raised concerns about Bitcoin’s limitations around privacy and its vulnerability to quantum computing advances — a technological threat that remains years away but is drawing increasing attention as construction begins on large-scale quantum facilities.
I think Bitcoin could reach $1M by ~2030 based on current conditions and progress.
Think long-term. pic.twitter.com/6MKqrjojAP
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 24, 2025
Dalio’s position and Alden’s are not entirely at odds. Neither dismissed either asset outright. The question is about which performs better over a defined window, not which survives long-term.
Related Reading: Stablecoins Pose Fresh Risk To Eurozone Lending, ECB Says
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has made a bolder call — he predicted Bitcoin to reach $1 million by 2030, citing cleaner regulatory conditions emerging in the US, which he called a signal for the rest of the G20.
(Featured image from Bitwise, chart from TradingView)
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