A Golden Year
ByteTree BOLD Index Monthly Rebalancing Report;
The 21Shares ByteTree BOLD ETP (BOLD) invests in Bitcoin and Gold. BOLD combines the world’s two most liquid alternative assets on a risk-adjusted basis. Due to their naturally low correlation, the diversification benefits of holding both assets have been unusually high. Bitcoin prefers risk-on market conditions, while Gold prefers risk-off.
The target weights last month were 34.5% and 65.5% (Bitcoin to Gold). Price changes over the month led to the last day’s weights at 32.7% Bitcoin and 67.3% Gold. This means the latest rebalancing has seen 2.1% added to Bitcoin and reduced from Gold to meet the new target weights.
BOLD Performance
In December, BOLD rose by 0.9%, while Bitcoin returned -3.6%, Gold +1.9%, and global equities +0.8%, in USD terms. Bitcoin gave back its early gains, while Gold rallied into the holidays, only to fall after Christmas. BOLD proved steady in a volatile month.
Bitcoin, Gold, BOLD, and Global Equities in USD – December 2025
Over the past year, BOLD has returned 41.1%, Bitcoin has returned -6.5%, white Gold has returned +64.6%, and equities 21.1%. It has been a stunning year for Gold and a soft year for Bitcoin. BOLD kept up with Gold until October, when Bitcoin started to retreat. Equities did well but slowed their advance in Q4. Overall, it was another very satisfactory year for BOLD.
Bitcoin, Gold, BOLD, and Global Equities in USD - 2025
In 2025, Gold and precious metals have been in vogue, with strong performance, while Bitcoin and crypto have been weak. It is not unusual that Bitcoin and Gold behave independently. However, it is rare for gold to rise by 65% in a single year. It is also evident that Bitcoin has tended to perform well in weak Gold years, when the economy has been strong, as that is generally associated with strong stockmarkets.
Bitcoin and Gold Annual Returns
Over the past five years, BOLD has returned +185.8%, while Bitcoin has returned +202.3%, Gold +127.5%, and equities +77.4%. The average return of Bitcoin and Gold was 164.9%, yet BOLD was 20.9% ahead, which demonstrates added value from rebalancing transactions. The more stable journey holding BOLD is driven by the asset allocation described below.
Bitcoin, Gold, BOLD, and Global Equities in USD - Five Years
Monthly Rebalancing of the BOLD ETP
BOLD allocates to Bitcoin and Gold on a risk-adjusted basis using past volatility, which is calculated using daily price movements. The less volatile asset, which has lower daily price moves, gets a higher weight in the index at the end of the monthly rebalancing.
It is notable that Bitcoin’s 360-day volatility is falling, while Gold’s has been rising. Note how the short-term 180-day volatility for Bitcoin has risen, which will slow the decline in the 360-day volatility in the coming months. For Gold, the 180-day measure is leading Gold’s volatility higher. The gap between the asset volatilities has never been narrower than it is today.
Bitcoin and Gold’s Past 360-day Volatility
Rather than having the same amount of value invested in each asset, the BOLD strategy aims to hold an equal amount of “risk” in each asset and is hence “risk-weighted”. The volatility of Bitcoin and Gold over the past 360 days was observed to be 33.6% and 17.9%, respectively.
If Bitcoin and Gold had the same volatility, the weights would be 50/50. Indeed, if Gold’s volatility were ever higher than Bitcoin’s, then Bitcoin would have a larger allocation. The volatility measures have resulted in new target weights of 34.8% Bitcoin and 65.2% Gold using this formula.
Asset allocation is an important feature. Over the long term, the aim is to equalise the risk in each asset. In 2017 and 2018, BOLD had relatively low exposure to Bitcoin due to its high volatility at the time, which held it in good stead in the 2018 bear market. At other times, it has generally been in the 20% to 25% range, with the remaining balance in Gold. The current Bitcoin weight is a record high.
BOLD Rebalance Weights
The monthly rebalancing transactions, which repeatedly top up the weaker asset, have added significant value compared to buy-and-hold. Using the weight in Gold, you can see how the monthly rebalancing brings the asset allocation back into line. Repeatedly doing this adds value while maintaining a constant level of risk.
Bitcoin: Daily Weight
The daily weights deviate much more than the monthly target weights due to the intra-month price movements between Bitcoin and Gold. For example, if Bitcoin were to have a material fall in price, as it did in February 2025, it would be boosted back up to the target weight during rebalancing. This ensures the strategy maintains the optimised weights for Bitcoin and Gold.
If Bitcoin were particularly strong one month and Gold weak, the rebalancing process would reduce the Bitcoin exposure back down to the target weight, and increase Gold, at the month's end. This process keeps the amount of risk, as defined by volatility, roughly the same in each asset. That means BOLD maintains its level of risk over time, not being overly exposed to either Bitcoin or Gold. This explains why BOLD’s volatility is so low and a key advantage over holding Bitcoin and Gold independently.
BOLD Volatility Is Comparable with Gold
Bitcoin and Gold ETF Flows
Gold ETFs have seen $5.8bn in inflows over the past 30 days, in contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, which have seen $0.9bn in outflows.
The total value of Bitcoin and Gold ETFs has touched $600 billion, demonstrating that this is a major alternative asset allocation.
BOLD ETP London Listing
The 21Shares ByteTree BOLD ETP (BOLD) will be listed in the UK, and the date will be announced soon. In the meantime, please visit BOLDETF.com, which is full of data and charts to help you better understand the benefits of the BOLD strategy.
BOLD ETP
The 21Shares ByteTree BOLD ETP (BOLD) tracks the BOLD Index. The fund now holds $37.2 million in Bitcoin and Gold, held in safe custody with Copper for Bitcoin and JP Morgan for Gold. December saw strong volume traded once again, exceeding $4 million. It trades actively in CHF, EUR, USD, SEK, and GBP in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Sweden. The ticker is BOLD.
21Shares ByteTree BOLD ETP Price and Volume by Share Class in US$
Product Details
| Issuer | 21Shares AG, Switzerland |
| Launch Date | 27 April 2022 |
| Fee | 0.65% Per Annum |
| Custody | Copper Technologies (Swiss) for Bitcoin, JP Morgan for Gold |
| Investment Objective | Risk-weighted Bitcoin and Gold Exposure |
| Benchmark | Kaiko ByteTree BOLD Index |
| Rebalancing Frequency | Monthly |
| ISIN | CH1146882308 |
| SEDOL | BK81V89 CH |
| WKN | A3GYXW |
| Ticker | BOLD SW |
| Listings | Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands |
| Currency | USD, EUR, CHF, GBP |
Contact
For information on investing in BOLD, contact bold@bytetree.com.
If your investment firm or media outlet would like a private briefing on BOLD, we will be happy to oblige. If a physical meeting is not possible, we can arrange a Zoom call.
