Bitcoin Priced in Gold
The S&P 500 priced in gold is a chart about two assets that have both existed for a very long time. As a brand new asset, Bitcoin is interesting to watch to see how it fares next to one of the assets it is compared with most often.
The whole history, on a log scale
One bitcoin divided by one troy ounce of gold, monthly averages both sides. Each gridline is ten times the one below it.
15.65 ounces of gold as of Jul 2026Bitcoin market price (blockchain.com)Gold price, monthly since 1833 (World Bank and National Mining Association, via datasets/gold-prices)
Since 2021, on an ordinary scale
The same ratio since the start of 2021, spaced evenly. Close enough in range that the moves can be read at face value.
15.65 ounces of gold as of Jul 2026Bitcoin market price (blockchain.com)Gold price, monthly since 1833 (World Bank and National Mining Association, via datasets/gold-prices)
Two charts
The ratio between bitcoin and gold has moved by a factor of roughly 740,000 since 2010. This is to be expected of an asset that started at zero not long ago, and climbed to a significant dollar multiple over the per-ounce gold price.
Since the chart would be so skewed to show this rise over the years, we use a logarithmic chart to scale the price out as it progresses.
Even with this approach to the y-axis, the recent movements in the ratio are still compressed. So we have a standard-scale chart from that point forward to show the ratio more naturally.
Notable points of time
Under a thousandth of an ounce until 2011. Back when most of the world had never heard of bitcoin.
Parity in May 2017, the first month a bitcoin was worth more than an ounce.
Around 33 ounces at the end of 2021, and a peak near 37 in December 2024.
Back to about 15 today, which is roughly where it stood in 2020.
Notes on interpreting this chart
As with any ratios like this, the chart does not intend to show the movement of the component assets. It may be useful however in teasing out patterns that might be useful in understanding which one of the two has relative strength compared to the other at various points in time.