Bitcoin vs Silver: Tracking the Growth of Digital Gold

Bitcoin has some way to go before it overtakes gold in market size, but it’s already about 73% as big as silver. This chart tracks the bitcoin vs silver market size ratio, which is currently 0.73 (yellow). The ratio divides bitcoin’s total market size (CRYPTOCAP:BTC, TradingView) by the approximate market size of silver. Back in March, the ratio hit 1.04 (blue)—meaning bitcoin’s total market value was briefly above silver’s. 

Bitcoin vs silver market size ratio explained

To get silver’s market size, I multiplied the silver price per ounce (XAGUSD) by the current supply of all the silver ever mined: 1.751 million metric tonnes (or 56.3 billion ounces). As you can see, bitcoin is growing faster than silver, according to the bitcoin vs silver market size ratio. It’s pushed steadily up and to the right—although it hasn’t been smooth sailing.

According to the Silver Institute, silver’s supply could increase by about 2% this year. But forecasting beyond that is more of a challenge. That said, silver’s supply should still increase faster than bitcoin’s, which is mathematically locked in. Around 94% of all bitcoin has already been mined, with the remaining 6% set to take until the year 2140. But really, most of that will be mined within the next decade. 

Now, the market size of an investment equals its price multiplied by its supply. So going forward, bitcoin’s market size growth will depend more on its price appreciation than silver’s (to compensate for bitcoin’s slower supply growth). But as things stand, the ratio is in a clear uptrend—with higher highs and higher lows.

The real question isn’t if bitcoin will overtake silver for good—it’s when.

As usual, none of this is investment advice. If you’d like to learn how to use TradingView, download our free PDF tutorial below.