World Gold Council CEO: Bitcoin will eventually go to zero

David Tait, chief executive of the World Gold Council, told David Lin at Consensus Miami that he personally believes bitcoin will eventually go to zero. He framed the view as a trader’s instinct and said it was not an official World Gold Council forecast. The interview was recorded, later posted online, and clips circulated on social media.

Tait traced his view to bitcoin’s behavior in periods of market stress, when liquidity tightens and investors sell. He pointed out that bitcoin has often moved with high-beta risk assets in those episodes rather than acting like a form of insurance for portfolios.

He contrasted that pattern with gold’s historical role as a reserve asset, noting episodes when gold attracted buying amid recession fears, sovereign-debt concerns and geopolitical shocks. The World Gold Council highlighted gold trading above $4,400 per ounce in mid-August and earlier surpassing $5,000 in 2026. Bitcoin has traded in the low-to-mid $60,000s after earlier highs.

Tait separated bitcoin from stablecoins, arguing stablecoins serve clear functions in payments, settlement and collateral because they aim to hold a steady value backed by fiat or assets. He said bitcoin has not established the same level of trust or durable use cases that underpin traditional reserve assets.

He did not tell investors to sell bitcoin and buy gold. Instead, he suggested holding both assets can make sense because they have different market drivers and can behave differently when liquidity changes.

Tait acknowledged rapid flows into bitcoin exchange-traded products, noting BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust reached about $70 billion in assets in roughly 341 days. He also said the World Gold Council is developing a Gold-as-a-Service offering for tokenized physical-gold products, with a proof of concept planned for late 2026.

He quoted his view directly in the interview: ‘I know my personal opinion on bitcoin is that it’s going to go to zero… just instinct as a trader.’ Social-media posts criticized the remarks as an unsupported personal view and noted he offered no model or data. Analysts and market participants said the next major liquidity shock will test whether bitcoin sells off with other risk assets and whether central banks continue to add to gold reserves.