Bitcoin and Gold Sink Together to the Bottom of 2026's Asset Table

Bitcoin and gold have landed in the same spot nobody wants: the bottom of the 2026 asset class table. Data crunched by Creative Planning chief market strategist Charlie Bilello puts both at the very back of a 21-asset ranking, and he says his dataset going back to 2011 has never seen the metal and the largest crypto finish last and second-last in the same year.

The numbers are ugly. Through October 23, gold was off 7.5% year-to-date and bitcoin was down 7.3%, per Bilello's tally. Both have kept bleeding since, with the metal now down 10% and the coin nursing a loss north of 11%. Everything else is eating their lunch: commodities have ripped more than 50% higher this year, US large-cap stocks are up over 12%, and even short-term Treasury bills have handed investors nearly 3%.

Gold's about-face has been the more theatrical. After climbing 64% in 2025, bullion punched to an all-time intraday high of $5,500 an ounce in late January 2026 — then gave all of it back. It briefly slipped below $4,000 an ounce earlier this week and is now hovering just above that line.

Bitcoin's path is just as bruising. It peaked at $126,000 in 2025, slid under $58,000 by early July, then clawed its way back to $87,000 before getting rejected there. It now trades around $80,000, a 35% retreat from its high, and another losing calendar year is on the table if the backdrop doesn't turn.

What flipped the script? Only months ago, in August, gold and bitcoin were rising in lockstep on the debasement trade — worries about US debt, Treasury markets and a softening dollar. Gold came close to $4,600 while bitcoin ripped $15,000 in a matter of days. Then oil prices surged and inflation jitters revived expectations for more Federal Reserve tightening. Gold shed 4% last week alone, and ING argued bullion got no lift from falling equities or lower Treasury yields, a sign investors were fixated on what expensive energy means for inflation.

That's a brutal setup for assets that pay nothing. When cash and government debt yield more, non-yielding holdings look less appealing by comparison. Zoom out, though, and the picture changes: Bilello's data show bitcoin has returned roughly 120.6% annualized since 2011, while gold has managed 6.3% over the same stretch.