Bitcoin (BTC) might not be digital gold due to its risky nature. But as an investment over the last 12 months, it's up 49% while the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) ETF is up 43%. Nasdaq is up around 8%. Looked at in that time frame, BTC is as good as gold, for real.

"While bitcoin continues to function as an ultra risk-on asset, paradoxically, the digital gold narrative has continued to gather strength," said Greg Waisman, Chief Operating Officer at Mercuryo, a fintech company headquartered in Canada. 

"Bitcoin has displayed relative resilience against tariff concerns and a potential recession," he said, noting that BTC has outperformed tech stocks all year. "That might make Bitcoin seen by some as displaying characteristics more akin to a store of value such as gold," Waisman said.

The notion that Bitcoin was "as good as gold" began around 2021. Michael Novogratz, founding CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings (BRPHF), a crypto investment firm that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, said at the time that "Bitcoin is a really convenient way to store value. The main reason everyone got into bitcoin is the same reason they got into gold—the current macro backdrop is tailor-made for it."

Novogratz later called it "digital gold" during a Goldman Sachs event that same year. That theme has stuck around ever since. 

"The digital gold label reflects Bitcoin's core proposition: scarcity, decentralization, and its role as a store of value," said Mithil Thakore, Co-Founder & CEO at Velar, a Dubai-based DeFi play.

If Bitcoin is to be likened as digital gold for its store of value, then it must be seen as the more rambunctious cousin to the yellow metal. Looked at over the last year and Bitcoin looks exactly like gold when compared to GLD. Looked at over five years and Bitcoin is a runaway train, far outpacing everything in the market, with the possible exception of Nvidia (NVDA) stocks. Over the last three months, Bitcoin is down 10.7%, but that's better than the Nasdaq. And it has also held its value more than Nvidia.

Gold Safer Bitcoin Since Trump, But Bitcoin Safer Bet Than The S&P 500

Despite Bitcoin being beaten by gold during the recent volatility, it's done better than the S&P 500. Investors lost more money holding the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) than they lost in BTC.

In official circles, of course, Bitcoin is not digital gold. The Securities and Exchange Commission makes it clear to investors: don't get your wires crossed on this trade. 

Unlike gold, Bitcoin is not a collateral currency. Central banks hold gold because it can be a ready source of foreign exchange, especially for dollars. Gold can also serve as a collateral to access dollars during a crisis. That's why gold has value because of its repeated historical pattern acting as insurance to access liquidity during times of extreme crisis. As of now, Bitcoin has yet to demonstrate the role as a collateral currency, let alone for central banks.

Earlier this month, Peter Schiff panned the idea of Bitcoin as a safe haven investment. He was mostly criticizing the Trump administration's plan to consider holding BTC in a strategic reserve fund.

"I mean, if it's digital gold, it should have something in common with gold. It should trade similarly to Gold. It should have some kind of positive correlation. It doesn't have any," Schiff said during his YouTube podcast. He called it the "anti-gold." 

"Bitcoin is more than just a passive hedge," said Thakore. "Unlike gold, which sits in vaults, Bitcoin is programmable and forms the backbone of a new financial system." At Velar, Thakore said he is saying a shift from passive holding of Bitcoin in digital wallets, to active utility as a currency. 

"Yes, Bitcoin is way more volatile than gold will ever be, but that volatility also reflects its growth phase," Thakore said. Gold has been around for thousands of years.  Bitcoin was created in 2009. "We're witnessing the monetization of the number one digital asset in real time," he said.  "In that sense, Bitcoin is gold with a built-in accelerator."

Disclosure: The writer of this article is a Bitcoin investor.