Real Assets
How Much Gold is a Bitcoin Worth?
Visualizing a Bitcoin’s Dollar Value in Gold
Gold has been a store of value in recessions and financial crises, but over the last decade, bitcoin has started to steal its thunder. Sometimes even being dubbed “digital gold”, the cryptocurrency has echoed gold’s epic booms and busts except with much more volatility.
While most people have held gold in the form of jewelry or in various electronic devices, bitcoin remains a physically intangible asset that is stored on digital ledgers and secured with cryptographic keys.
Using price data from TradingView, this graphic compares the two assets by showing how much gold is equivalent to one bitcoin, while also visualizing bitcoin’s market capitalization and 2021 gold production in the form of gold cubes.
What is a Bitcoin’s Weight in Gold?
With a single bitcoin worth around $22,600 at the time of the visualization, this is equivalent to a small cube of gold just over 20 cm3, with each side measuring around 2.7 centimeters, or just over one inch.
This tiny gold cube that fits in the palm of a hand is not only worth $22,600, but also weighs an impressive 12.6 troy ounces (just under 0.8 lbs or around 357 grams) thanks to gold’s extremely high density of 19.32 g/cm3.
When converting the value of bitcoin’s entire market capitalization of $432.7 billion to physical gold, the gold cube would be 7.3 m (23.9 ft), taller than four people stacked on top of each other. To put this in perspective, we also visualized the amount of gold mined in 2021, which was around $204.9 billion worth, weighing in at 3,560.7 tonnes.
Comparing Bitcoin’s Digital Gold to Physical Gold
In its short 13-year lifespan bitcoin has grown tremendously to reach nearly half a trillion in market capitalization currently, but compared to gold it’s still small.
Just 2021’s gold production was worth nearly half of bitcoin’s entire market cap, and with gold’s market cap estimated to be around $11.7 trillion, it’s more than 20 times larger than that of the cryptocurrency’s.
While at first this might seem like a drawback for bitcoin, its small market cap has partially enabled its stratospheric price increases in bull runs.
Due to bitcoin’s smaller market cap, money flowing into bitcoin results in a larger percentage increase than if the same amount of money flowed into gold, giving the cryptocurrency more potential upside but also much more volatility as money moves in and out.
A Tale of Two Stores of Value
While gold has long been a safe haven asset or store of value for investors, in 2021 bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies got all the attention as the orange coin’s price surged by 59% and reached an all-time high of $69,000. However, since the start of 2022, bitcoin’s price has fallen by 49%, and is more than 65% from its all-time high of last year.
As a result of all this volatility, bitcoin is now below any price traded in 2021, meaning anyone who bought bitcoin in 2021 and held on is now down on their investment.
Meanwhile, gold fell by 4% in 2021, and is down another 2% in 2022, so while gold buyers of 2021 are also down on their investment, they’ve had a much smoother ride with smaller losses along the way.
Whatever lies ahead for these two unique assets, in terms of market cap size, returns, and volatility, the digital gold that is bitcoin has a long way to go before it catches up to the real thing.
Real Assets
How Much Gold is in Fort Knox?
The United States Bullion Depository holds more than half of the Treasury’s $428B in gold reserves.
How Much Gold Is in Fort Knox?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to visit Fort Knox “to make sure the gold is there.”
Officially, the United States Bullion Depository (commonly known as Fort Knox) holds over half of the Treasury’s $428 billion gold reserves.
In this graphic, we put that amount into perspective by comparing Fort Knox’s reserves with central bank gold reserves worldwide. The data comes from the U.S. Mint and the World Gold Council. For illustrative purposes, we considered a pallet of 1,190 gold bars (400 troy ounces each) weighing approximately 14.8 tonnes.
What Is Fort Knox?
Located in Kentucky, Fort Knox is a U.S. Army installation that serves as the primary storage site for America’s gold reserves. The facility was established in the 1930s to protect gold from potential foreign attacks.
The first gold shipment arrived in 1937 via U.S. Mail from the Philadelphia Mint and the New York Assay Office. During World War II, Fort Knox safeguarded important U.S. documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It has also housed international treasures, such as the Magna Carta and the crown, sword, scepter, orb, and cape of St. Stephen, King of Hungary, before they were returned in 1978.
Currently, it holds 4,175 tonnes of gold, equivalent to nearly half of China’s gold reserves and four times the Swiss central bank’s reserves.
| Reserves | Gold (Tonnes) |
|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 U.S. Reserves | 8,133 |
| 🏛️ Fort Knox | 4,175 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 2,280 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 846 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1,040 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 876 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 104 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 220 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 130 |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 120 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 235 |
Only small samples have been removed for purity testing during audits; no major transfers have occurred for years.
Gold Bar Specifications
- Size: 7 inches × 3 5/8 inches × 1 3/4 inches
- Weight: 400 ounces (27.5 pounds)
Extreme Security
Only a select few know the full security procedures, and no single person knows how to fully open the vault.
In 1974, a group of journalists and a Congressional delegation were allowed inside—marking the first official visit since Fort Knox’s creation. Previously, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults.
In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and several Congressional representatives became the second group to visit the vault.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If gold was shared equally, how much would you get? Check out this graphic to find out.
Real Assets
Charted: Top Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel to the U.S.
President Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.
Charted: Top U.S. Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, marking one of the most discussed measures of his first month back in the White House.
But which countries are most affected by these tariffs?
This map illustrates the top suppliers of aluminum and steel to the United States in 2024. The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. Aluminum includes unwrought aluminum, plates, sheets, and strips; bars, rods, and profiles; foil; wire; pipes and tubes; castings and forgings; and tube or pipe fittings.
Canada: The Largest Partner
Canada is by far the top supplier of both steel and aluminum to the United States. The neighboring country exported $9.4 billion worth of aluminum to the U.S. in 2024, significantly ahead of the second-largest exporter, the European Union, which exported $1.5 billion.
Canada also exported $7.1 billion worth of steel last year, compared to $7 billion from the European Union.
| Country | Steel Imports (USD) | Aluminum Imports (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $7.1B | $9.4B |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | $3.5B | $397M |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | $3.0B | - |
| 🇨🇳 China | $799M | $809M |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | $1.3B | - |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | $2.9B | $781M |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $1.9B | $318M |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | $1.7B | - |
| 🇮🇳 India | $489M | $445M |
| 🇪🇺 European Union | $7B | $1.5B |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | - | $917M |
| 🇧🇭 Bahrain | - | $535M |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | - | $468M |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | - | $271M |
| 🇬🇧 UK | $440M | - |
Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil are also among the top suppliers of steel to the United States. Meanwhile, the country imports aluminum from other key partners, including China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Bahrain, and Argentina.
A recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) noted that the U.S. produces less than 2% of the world’s primary aluminum.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed this graphic, be sure to check out this chart illustrating the GDP impact of Trump’s tariffs on China.
-
Electrification2 years agoThe Six Major Types of Lithium-ion Batteries: A Visual Comparison
-
Real Assets2 years agoWhich Countries Have the Lowest Inflation?
-
Misc3 years agoHow Is Aluminum Made?
-
Electrification3 years agoThe World’s Top 10 Lithium Mining Companies
-
Real Assets1 year ago200 Years of Global Gold Production, by Country
-
Electrification2 years agoLife Cycle Emissions: EVs vs. Combustion Engine Vehicles
-
Misc2 years agoMapped: U.S. Mineral Production Value by State in 2022
-
Energy Shift2 years agoMapped: Biggest Sources of Electricity by State and Province