Gold and Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted record inflows in August. That raises a practical question: does either asset belong in your portfolio?
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Gold and Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted record inflows in August. That raises a practical question: does either asset belong in your portfolio?
By late summer, investors were putting substantial money into both markets.
Gold was one of 2025's strongest-performing assets, rising 64% over the year. In 2026, however, its price has pulled back after reaching a record £5,595 on 29 January.
Cryptocurrency had a rough first seven months of the year. Bitcoin, the largest and most influential digital currency, dropped 28% from the start of the year through 31 July; Ethereum fell 37% during that period.
"Record inflows into Bitcoin and gold exchange-traded products (ETPs) have driven the recent rally in both assets," said Francesco Paganelli, principal of manager research at Morningstar.
He said August brought gold ETPs their strongest inflows in five years. The latest wave of buying also marked "a sharp turnaround for global Bitcoin products."
What do gold and crypto have in common?
Gold and crypto can sometimes move together because investors often buy both for similar reasons.
Both can hold value or be used for payment, and neither has the unlimited supply associated with fiat money. Gold exists in finite quantities: only a certain amount has been mined, and no more than the Earth contains will ever be extracted. Cryptocurrencies impose scarcity through their code. Bitcoin, for instance, will never exceed 21 million coins; mining is the process that releases them into circulation.
Both assets can hedge against inflation: when a currency - especially the US dollar - loses value, buying the same amount of gold or crypto requires more of it.
The connection runs both ways. Gold and cryptocurrencies tend to react to interest-rate shifts, especially in the United States, where both are generally priced in dollars. When markets begin expecting higher US rates, prices for both assets may fall because those expectations point to weaker US inflation; the reverse can happen when rate expectations decline.
"Investors seem to be reducing their dependence on assets denominated in US dollars," said Morningstar's Paganelli, describing the move as part of the de-dollarisation trade. Years of unusually strong US equity-market returns have left many portfolios heavily concentrated in dollar-linked holdings.
Government bond yields are climbing, so bonds no longer offer the same protection investors once expected. Some are turning to other assets they view as stores of value.
The two assets do not always move together. Bitcoin has historically benefited when investors were willing to take on risk, whereas gold generally performed better during periods of market anxiety. That pattern broke down in 2026: gold's gains last year, combined with the unusually strong influence of interest-rate expectations on prices this year, have made gold trade more like a risk-on asset.
How to invest in gold and crypto
Funds and ETPs offer a way to track gold or crypto prices separately. The rules around crypto ETPs continue to change: as of April 2026, they can be held only in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), not a stocks and shares ISA. Since October 2025, however, they have also been eligible for inclusion in a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
The 21Shares Bitcoin Gold ETP (LON:BOLD) provides exposure to both assets through a single product. It invests in gold and Bitcoin, then shifts the allocation according to each asset's inverse volatility so that both contribute an equal level of risk. Like other crypto ETPs, BOLD can only be held in a SIPP or an IFISA.
On 28 September, BOLD held 53.1% gold and 46.9% Bitcoin in its underlying assets.
Before buying either one, consider how it fits your portfolio and how much risk you can accept.
"Crypto's steep rallies have often been followed by steep declines," Paganelli said. With gold and bitcoin both unusually volatile in recent months, investors should be especially careful about how much they allocate to either asset and when they buy.
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