Gold and Silver Outshine Bitcoin as Selling Pressure Builds: Is the Safe-Haven Trade Back?

Educational content only, not investment advice. Mining stocks are high risk.

By Ben McGregor

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Over the past week, gold and silver did outshine Bitcoin: Bitcoin spot fell 8.22% in the week to 2:30 a.m. Eastern on November 11, StreetStats data show, while spot gold was flat and spot silver rose.

In the wider contest of precious metals vs cryptocurrency, though, the answer depends on the window. Silver trailed Bitcoin over one month and over the year to date. Over three months, Bitcoin led both metals, which runs against the headline. The safe-haven label holds up only in part, because gold and silver also fell hard on November 10 when Treasury yields and the dollar rose.

This piece checks each window with dated figures and names the price used each time. Spot is the price for metal delivered now, and COMEX front-month futures are the New York contract closest to delivery, settled once a day. Bitcoin spot is an average of prices across crypto exchanges, as StreetStats describes it.

Precious metals vs cryptocurrency: which led in each time window?

StreetStats measures rolling windows, meaning each one counts back from the same moment, 2:30 a.m. Eastern on November 11. At that time, spot gold was $4,058.55 an ounce and spot silver was $52.87, while Bitcoin spot was $73,798.48.

One week: Bitcoin spot fell 8.22%, while spot gold slipped 0.04% and spot silver rose 1.47%. This is the window where the headline holds for both metals.

One month: Bitcoin spot fell 9.74% and spot gold fell 2.71%. Spot silver fell 12.06%, so silver trailed Bitcoin over the month.

Three months: Bitcoin spot rose 16.40%, while spot gold fell 7.94% and spot silver fell 18.85%, so Bitcoin led both metals by a wide margin.

One year: Bitcoin spot fell 30.38%, while spot gold fell 1.38% and spot silver rose 4.89%.

Year to date: StreetStats does not show this window, so two other sources fill it. The Tokenist reported on November 10, before the inflation report, that Bitcoin was down 15.1% this year and gold futures were down 5.9%. Dow Jones Market Data shows COMEX front-month silver down 27.14% for the year at the November 10 settlement.

Those year-to-date figures come from different sources and different moments, so they make a rough match. Even so, the gap between silver and Bitcoin is wide enough to show silver trailing. COMEX front-month gold was down 7.05% for the year at the same settlement. The Tokenist's 5.9% figure for gold came before the inflation report, and the settlement came after it.

By CMR's count, gold beat Bitcoin in four of these five windows, missing only the three-month window. Silver beat Bitcoin in two of the five, over one week and one year.

CMR's July 26 post on Bitcoin fund assets and gold funds and its August 5 post on whether Bitcoin can replace gold cover the longer debate. This piece sticks to the dated windows from this week's data.

Why are gold and silver outperforming Bitcoin?

Over the past week, most of the gap came from selling in Bitcoin. An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, trades on a stock exchange like a share, and US spot Bitcoin ETFs hold Bitcoin for their investors.

Those funds had about $1.28 billion of net outflows in the week from November 2, the most since late June, The Block reported. It also left the funds with $914.1 million of net outflows for 2026 as a whole.

Forced selling added to the drop as well. A long position is a bet that a price will rise, often made with borrowed money, and a liquidation is the forced sale when that bet loses enough. More than $1 billion of crypto long positions were liquidated in 24 hours, The Block reported, and Bitcoin briefly fell below $74,000 during that selling.

The outflows kept going on Monday, the start of this week. US spot Bitcoin ETFs lost a net $201.0 million on November 9, NewsBTC reported, citing Farside Investors data. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led with $213.2 million of outflows.

Then came the inflation report on Tuesday. After the October consumer price index (CPI) report on November 10, Bitcoin traded near $73,000, CoinDesk reported, its weakest level since August 20. In mid-morning trade, the Nasdaq fell 1.1% and Nvidia dropped 6%.

Over three months the picture flips, because Bitcoin spot rose 16.40% in that window while both metals fell. The recent selling came after a strong run, and The Tokenist measured that swing in gold terms. One Bitcoin bought 21.1 ounces of gold on January 5. By February 23, it bought 12.4 ounces.

By November 10, one Bitcoin bought 18.2 ounces, The Tokenist reported. Since February 23, it said, Bitcoin is up 14.9% and gold is down 21.8%. The Tokenist says its parent company may earn a commission when readers buy products through links on its site.

What drove the selling in gold and silver?

The metals' worst day of the week came on November 10. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said CPI, which tracks what households pay for everyday goods and services, rose 0.4% in October, seasonally adjusted. Core CPI, which leaves out food and energy, rose 0.3%.

The bureau published no 12-month rates, because October 2025 data were never collected during the 2025 funding lapse, so there was nothing to compare against.

Late on November 10, spot gold was near $4,031.80 an ounce, down 2.60%, Kitco reported. Spot silver was near $51.410, down 3.55%, in the same report. Kitco tied the drop to higher Treasury yields and a stronger dollar after the CPI report.

The futures settlements tell the same story in New York. COMEX front-month gold settled at $4,020.70 on November 10, down 2.05%, Dow Jones Market Data shows. COMEX front-month silver settled at $51.101, down 2.78%.

Rates are the link between the report and the metals. Gold pays no interest, Babypips noted, so it loses appeal when bonds pay more. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, the US government's benchmark borrowing rate, briefly moved above 5.00% on November 10, Kitco reported.

Babypips put the 10-year yield near 4.99% at the close. It said the US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against other major currencies, rose 0.6% to near 102.26. A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced metal cost more for buyers using other currencies.

Odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike also rose through the day. CME Group's FedWatch tool, which turns futures prices into odds of a Fed move, showed a 98.8% chance of a December hike at 8:58 a.m. Eastern, IBTimes reported. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

Kitco's later evening report split the odds by the size of the move. It showed an 88.2% chance of a 25-basis-point hike at the Fed's December meeting. It also showed an 11.8% chance of a 50-basis-point move. The Fed held its target range at 3.75% to 4.00% at its October meeting, Kitco noted.

Over the longer windows, both metals remain well below their January peaks. COMEX front-month gold settled 24.40% below its record of $5,318.40, set on January 29, Dow Jones Market Data shows. COMEX front-month silver settled 55.60% below its record of $115.08, set on January 26.

By the early hours of November 11, spot prices had recovered part of the drop. Spot gold was $4,058.55 and spot silver $52.87 at 2:30 a.m. Eastern, StreetStats data show.

Is gold a safer investment than Bitcoin?

"Safer" has no single measure, so CMR checks two of them against the data. The first is how far each has fallen from its record. Bitcoin was at $74,259 on November 10, The Tokenist reported. That was 40.5% below its record close of $124,753 from October 2025.

COMEX front-month gold settled 24.40% below its record on November 10, and COMEX front-month silver settled 55.60% below its record. These are different instruments, each measured against its own peak. On that measure, gold has fallen less than Bitcoin, and silver has fallen more than both.

The second measure is how far each price moved within the same window, up or down. By CMR's count, spot gold had the smallest move of the three in all four StreetStats windows. Over three months, for example, spot gold fell 7.94%, while spot silver fell 18.85% and Bitcoin spot rose 16.40%.

So the record so far is mixed, and it depends on the metal. Gold has been the steadier of the three in every window StreetStats shows. Silver, often grouped with gold as a precious metal, has fallen more than Bitcoin over the past month.

The Tokenist also found that this year is unusual. Since 2015, Bitcoin and gold were both down at this point in the year only twice before, in 2018 and 2022.

Is the safe-haven trade back in 2026?

A safe haven is an asset that holds its value when other markets fall. The test is what happened when stocks and bonds came under pressure.

On November 10, that test went against all three. Stocks fell, the 10-year yield briefly topped 5.00%, and spot gold, spot silver and Bitcoin all dropped. Higher rates hit the metals and Bitcoin at the same time.

Goldman Sachs described the same risk for gold on November 5. Sharp stock market drops could first pull gold lower as margin calls force investors to raise cash, the bank said, Reuters reported via Mining Weekly. A margin call is a demand to add cash to an account that holds borrowed bets.

Other evidence points the other way for gold. Global gold ETFs added 19 tonnes in October, the World Gold Council reported on November 5, taking holdings to a record 4,275 tonnes. That was about $2.7 billion and a fourth straight month of inflows, The Tokenist reported, though North American funds had small outflows.

Central banks also kept buying, the council's quarterly report shows. They bought an estimated 321.2 tonnes of gold in the third quarter of 2026, up from 296.3 tonnes in the second, the council reported. Central banks reported only about 120 tonnes of that, and the rest is the council's estimate.

That official buying serves long-term reserve goals. Central banks have added gold to limit their exposure to dollar assets and possible sanctions, MINING.COM reported in October. That aim reaches beyond gold's role among safe-haven investments.

The answer is a partial yes for gold over most windows, and a no for the single day that tested it hardest. For silver, the answer is weaker, since it fell more than Bitcoin over one month and year to date.

How I read it. The headline holds for the past week, but the window decides the answer. Bitcoin's fall came mostly from fund outflows and forced selling, while the metals' fall came from rates and the dollar. Those are different causes, and on November 10 they hit together. Gold held up better than Bitcoin in most windows, but it gave no shelter on the day yields jumped.

What do the 2026 gold and silver price forecasts say?

For readers searching for a gold price forecast 2026 or a silver price forecast 2026, two institutions have recent numbers. These are each institution's own estimates, and CMR does not forecast prices.

The World Bank's October 28 Commodity Markets Outlook gives yearly average prices in nominal US dollars. Its data cutoff was October 14, and it puts gold at an average of $4,600 an ounce for 2026. Its average for gold in 2027 is $4,250.

For silver, the bank expects a yearly average of $70 an ounce in 2026. Its silver average for 2027 is $62. A yearly average covers every month, including the high prices of January, so it differs from a year-end target.

Goldman Sachs gives a year-end figure for gold. On November 5, it cut its end-2026 gold forecast to $4,150 an ounce, Reuters reported via Mining Weekly. Its earlier forecast was $4,650, and the bank cited a more hawkish Fed. A hawkish Fed is one leaning toward higher rates.

CMR covered both in more depth in its November 7 post on the World Bank's forecast and its November 7 post on Goldman's cut.

What does this mean for a retirement-age reader?

A single headline can hide different results by window. Over one week, gold and silver beat Bitcoin, but over three months Bitcoin led both. Checking the window and the instrument behind any comparison shows which story the numbers tell.

The causes behind each drop also differ. Bitcoin's recent fall tracked fund outflows and forced selling, while the metals tracked yields and the dollar. When rates jumped on November 10, those separate causes pulled all three down on the same day.

What to watch: which dates come next?

1. Friday, November 13, 2026, 8:30 a.m. Eastern: the US producer price index (PPI) for October, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. PPI tracks the prices businesses receive for what they sell.
2. Friday, November 13, 2026: a scheduled expiry of Bitcoin options, which are contracts giving the right to buy or sell Bitcoin at a set price. Ahead of it, Bitfinex analysts expected Bitcoin to trade between $72,350 and $79,400, Bitcoin.com News reported on November 10.
3. Each US trading day: spot Bitcoin ETF flows, published by Farside Investors. These show whether the outflows of early November continue.
4. Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9, 2026: the Federal Reserve's meeting. The rate decision comes on the second day, according to the Fed's calendar.
5. Early December 2026: the World Gold Council's gold ETF report for November. No exact date has been posted.

FAQ

Why are gold and silver outperforming Bitcoin?

Over the week to November 11, Bitcoin spot fell 8.22% while spot gold was nearly flat and spot silver rose, StreetStats data show. Bitcoin was hit by heavy outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs and forced selling of borrowed bets. Over three months, Bitcoin led both metals.

Is gold a safer investment than Bitcoin?

Measured from each one's record, gold has fallen less than Bitcoin, while silver has fallen more than both. All three dropped together after the October CPI report on November 10. Which one is safer depends on the window and the measure.

Is the safe-haven trade back in 2026?

Only in part. Gold held up better than Bitcoin over most windows, and gold funds kept adding metal in October. But on November 10, gold and silver fell with stocks and Bitcoin as Treasury yields and the dollar rose.

Sources

1. Gold, Silver & Bitcoin, StreetStats, November 11, 2026, 2:30 a.m. Eastern. https://streetstats.finance/liquidity/gold-silver-bitcoin
2. Bitcoin vs Gold: Both Down in 2026. Who Wins 2027?, Tim Baker, The Tokenist, November 10, 2026. https://tokenist.com/bitcoin-vs-gold-both-down/
3. Comex Silver Settles 2.78% Lower at $51.101, Dow Jones Market Data via Morningstar, November 10, 2026, 6:49 p.m. Eastern. https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202611108910/comex-silver-settles-278-lower-at-51101-data-talk
4. Comex Gold Settles 2.05% Lower at $4020.70, Dow Jones Market Data via Morningstar, November 10, 2026, 6:49 p.m. Eastern. https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202611108909/comex-gold-settles-205-lower-at-402070-data-talk
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