As 2025 draws to a close, the precious metals market has staged an astonishing wealth feast. Gold soared from about $2,600 at the beginning of the year to $4,546, a cumulative increase of 73%; silver was even more aggressive, jumping from $29 to $79, a surge of 169%! Platinum also held strong, with a gain of 145%, making it a favorite among investors.

This wave of market activity is not without reason. Deteriorating geopolitical tensions (Venezuela situation, Nigerian strikes, escalation of Middle Eastern conflicts), ongoing monetary easing by central banks, an 11% depreciation of the US dollar, explosive industrial demand in solar energy and electronics industries, coupled with global supply chain tensions and the shadow of a debt crisis—these factors combined to directly boost the defensive value of precious metals. As a result, gold's market cap expanded to over $30 trillion, and silver became the third-largest global asset with a market value of about $4.5 trillion. This is the craziest precious metals bull market since 1979.

In contrast, the cryptocurrency market presents a completely different atmosphere. Bitcoin declined by 6% throughout the year, and Ethereum suffered a harsh 17% drop. Why is this happening? The reason is quite painful—investors are shifting their focus to tangible, real-world safe-haven assets, and the halo of Bitcoin as "digital gold" is gradually fading. Even with the Federal Reserve frequently cutting interest rates and releasing positive signals, these benefits have already been priced in. Additionally, the meme coin ecosystem is struggling, risks in the DeFi industry are frequent, and ongoing regulatory pressure has caused the crypto market to fall into a growth stagnation.