Gold and silver continue to climb, while bitcoin remains stuck, raising questions about the strength of BTC’s adoption narrative.

On Thursday, gold gained 1.7% to $4,930 per ounce, and silver jumped 3.7% to $96. Bitcoin, meanwhile, slipped toward $89,000, roughly 30% below its early October all-time high.

Bianco Research founder Jim Bianco expressed skepticism over bitcoin’s recent performance. “The adoption announcements are not working anymore,” he wrote on X. “We need a new theme, and that’s not evident yet.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas urged a longer-term perspective, noting that bitcoin is consolidating after surging from below $16,000 during the 2022 crypto winter to $126,000 in October. “It went up roughly 300% in the prior 20 months,” he said. “What do you want — 200% annual gains with no breaks?”

Balchunas added that profit-taking by early investors, which he called a “silent IPO,” has likely contributed to BTC’s slowdown. He cited one long-term holder who sold over $9 billion in bitcoin in July after more than a decade of holding.

Bianco noted that bitcoin has lagged other assets over the 14 months since President Trump’s November 2024 election. During that period, bitcoin is down 2.6%, while silver is up 205%, gold 83%, the Nasdaq 24%, and the S&P 500 17.6%. “While we wait for that new theme, everything else is racing ahead as BTC stays stuck in the mud,” he said.

Balchunas added that as recently as November 2024, bitcoin had risen 122% year-over-year, comfortably outperforming gold. He argued that metals’ recent surge represents catch-up rather than a fundamental shift in long-term market leadership.