Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could surpass gold ETFs in total assets under management (AUM) as investor demand broadens beyond the “digital gold” narrative, ETF analyst James Seyffart said.
“There are just more use cases of why somebody would put a Bitcoin ETF in a portfolio,” Seyffart said on the Coin Stories podcast. He cited Bitcoin’s roles as digital gold, a store of value, a portfolio diversifier, digital capital and property, and noted the market also treats Bitcoin as a “growth risk asset.” Seyffart contrasted that variety of use cases with gold, which he said generally fills only one role, adding: “Our view is that Bitcoin ETFs will be larger than gold ETFs.”
Seyffart described Bitcoin ETFs as potentially acting like “hot sauce” in a portfolio — a small allocation that enhances returns or exposure — and said many investors could use them to express bets on growth and liquidity.
Flows have begun to reflect diverging interest. US-based gold ETFs recorded net outflows of $2.92 billion in March, while US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $1.32 billion in net inflows over the same period. The largest US gold-backed ETF, GLD, logged a $3 billion outflow on Mar. 4, the biggest daily withdrawal in more than two years.
Data cited by Cointelegraph from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) showed retail gold purchases have tripled over the last six months even as Wall Street selling accelerated in recent months. Despite differences in ETF flows, Bitcoin and gold have moved broadly in tandem in recent weeks: at the time of publication Bitcoin was trading around $66,918, down about 8.1% over 30 days, while gold was trading around $4,676, down about 8.3% over 30 days.
Fidelity Digital Assets analyst Chris Kuiper noted in December 2025 that historically gold and Bitcoin have taken turns outperforming, suggesting that after a strong year for gold it wouldn’t be surprising for Bitcoin to lead next.
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