Raoul Pal Says Bitcoin Beats Gold as the Real Debasement Hedge

Real Vision co-founder Raoul Pal says Bitcoin (BTC), not gold, is the better long-term hedge against currency debasement, arguing the asset’s earlier adoption stage gives it more room to grow than the metal.

Pal made the comparison during a September interview on the Wolf Financial Show. There, he laid out his broader framework for how debasement quietly erodes savings and wages.

Debasement Erodes Savings Every Year

Debasement, Pal says, is the dominant force behind rising asset prices over time. He ties it directly to liquidity cycles that central banks and governments largely control.

He describes debasement as the steady loss of a currency’s purchasing power as central banks expand the money supply.

He estimates this process reduces the value of fiat currencies globally by roughly 8% annually. Wages, he adds, typically track economic growth of around 3%.

That gap, Pal argues, explains why homes and other scarce assets have grown harder to afford for average earners. Bitcoin recently traded near $75,900, according to BeInCrypto data, down about 2% over the past day.

Why Bitcoin Beats Gold, According to Pal

Pal frames gold as base money with no ability to compound in value beyond what the broader economy already reflects. Bitcoin, he says, functions as digital gold with the same scarcity but a much earlier adoption curve.

Pal summarized the idea in one line.

“[T]he digital gold is Bitcoin, but Bitcoin’s earlier in its adoption.”

He made the remark during the interview.

Pal argues that only two asset classes have consistently outpaced the debasement rate. Those are crypto and technology stocks, tracked through the Nasdaq.

He pointed to the Nasdaq’s roughly 19% annual return over 15 years. Crypto, he estimates, has compounded between 45% and 110% annually.

Gold, real estate, and other traditional assets, he said, tend to only track the debasement rate rather than beat it. Pal’s comments echo a wider narrative among macro investors. They increasingly link Bitcoin’s price moves to gold as the debasement trade gains traction.

Whether Bitcoin can sustain that adoption curve remains an open question. Gold’s renewed strength may shape how investors weigh the two assets through 2026.