After years of crypto hype, wild swings, and “numbers go up” optimism, many investors are reconsidering what belongs in their portfolios. MarketWise surveyed 1,000 active U.S. investors who hold traditional investments and who currently own or have previously owned cryptocurrencies or NFTs. We paired that survey data with a 5-year performance comparison between gold shares and Bitcoin. When volatility spikes and uncertainty rises, these past and present digital asset investors may speculate with crypto, but they trust gold.
Key Takeaways
- 56% of digital asset investors have lost more than 20% on their crypto investments.
- 60% of digital asset investors trust gold over Bitcoin in financial emergencies.
- Among digital asset investors who shifted their investment interest from crypto to gold (or vice versa) in the past year, the primary driver was volatility concerns, at 27%.
- Nearly 1 in 5 digital asset investors (18%) sold or reduced crypto holdings in the past year to buy gold instead.
- One-third of digital asset investors plan to increase gold positions in the next 12 months.
- Gold delivered nearly 4x bitcoin’s return over the past 5 years (206% vs. 56%).
Investors Are Rotating to Gold, but Not Abandoning Crypto
- 18% of digital asset investors sold crypto to buy gold in the past year, with Gen Z doing so the most (21%). Volatility concerns (27%) and inflation fears (18%) were the top reasons why.
- 24% of digital asset investors decreased crypto exposure, compared to just 8% who reduced their gold positions.
- On average, digital asset investors allocate 2.9 times more of their portfolio to crypto than to gold. Gen Z again stands out, allocating 27.8% of their portfolios to crypto, which is more than millennials (15.4%) and Gen X (13.8%). Gen Z also allocates more to gold (7.6%) than older generations.
- Looking ahead, 33% of digital asset investors plan to increase their gold positions over the next year, while 41% plan to increase their crypto positions. Among Gen Z, 43% plan to invest more in crypto, the highest of all generations.
When Crisis Hits, Gold Is Favored Over Crypto
- 60% of digital asset investors said they trust gold more than Bitcoin in a financial emergency, compared to 13% who would trust Bitcoin more.
- 73% of digital asset investors believe gold will hold value 100 years from now. Only 19% said the same about Bitcoin.
- 56% of digital asset investors report experiencing losses exceeding 20% in cryptocurrency. By comparison, only 11% experienced similar losses in gold.
- When asked what drives their confidence in gold, digital asset investors pointed to protection during crises (74%), inflation protection (72%), and gold’s historical track record (70%) as the top factors.
5-Year Performance: Gold Outpaced Bitcoin With Less Risk
- From March 2021 through February 2026, Gold (XAU-USD) delivered a total return of 206%, translating to a 25.1% annualized return. Over the same period, Bitcoin returned 56% in total, with a 9.3% annualized return. Gold produced nearly 4 times the total return of Bitcoin during this five-year window.
- Bitcoin was 4 times more volatile than gold, based on the standard deviation of monthly returns.
The Bottom Line: Speculation Is Cyclical, Trust Is Earned
Digital asset investors, especially younger ones, continue to allocate heavily to crypto and plan to increase exposure. At the same time, trust, crisis confidence, and long-term value expectations overwhelmingly favor gold. Over the past 5 years, gold delivered stronger returns with significantly less volatility. Meanwhile, many investors have firsthand experience with substantial crypto losses. When preserving wealth is the goal, staying power often beats excitement.
Methodology
MarketWise conducted a survey of 1,000 U.S. investors from February 13–14, 2026. To ensure a qualified sample of active investors, all respondents were required to hold at least one investment vehicle, including personal savings or checking accounts, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), individual company stocks, mutual funds, electronically traded funds (ETFs), or employer-matching 401(k) accounts. All participants were also screened to confirm they currently own or previously owned cryptocurrencies and/or NFTs, ensuring the sample comprised investors with direct experience in both traditional and digital asset classes.
Historical price data for Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was obtained from Yahoo Finance. Historical price data for Gold (XAU-USD) was obtained from a combination of Exchange-Rates.org and StatMuse Money. Both were collected from the period March 2021 through February 2026. Total returns were calculated as the percentage change from the opening price (March 1, 2021) to the closing price (February 28, 2026), while annualized returns were derived using the compound annual growth rate formula: ((End Price / Start Price)^(1/Years) – 1) × 100.
Volatility was measured as the standard deviation of monthly percentage returns across the entire period, which quantifies how much returns vary from their mean and serves as the industry-standard method for measuring investment risk. For the visual line chart comparison, both assets were indexed to 100 at the starting date to enable direct performance comparison despite differing absolute price levels.
Crisis period performance was analyzed by isolating specific timeframes — May 2021 Crypto Crash (May 1 to July 31, 2021), 2022 Inflation Spike (January 1 to October 31, 2022), and 2023–2025 Gold Bull Run (October 2023 to February 2026) — and by calculating returns within each window using closing prices at the start and end dates. All calculations are based on closing prices and do not account for dividends, transaction costs, or tax implications. The analysis provides a direct performance comparison between traditional gold investment vehicles and cryptocurrency over identical time periods and market conditions.
About MarketWise
MarketWise is a leading financial research and education platform serving self-directed investors. Through a network of independent brands, including Stansberry Research, Altimetry, Chaikin Analytics, TradeSmith, InvestorPlace, Brownstone Research, and Wide Moat Research, MarketWise delivers independent insights, tools, and software to help individuals navigate complex markets with confidence. Whether you’re exploring emerging opportunities or seeking stability, MarketWise supports every investor with credible research and actionable strategies.
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