Not necessarily. The two are separate tracks; whether Gold Card participation makes sense depends on the applicant's own circumstances, not on any requirement that one substitute for the other.
Evaluate the Gold Card on its own terms, not as a substitute
An existing employment-based immigrant petition and Gold Card registration are governed by entirely separate frameworks, and having one filed does not create a requirement to pursue the other, nor does it disqualify an applicant from doing so. The decision about whether Gold Card participation makes sense should be evaluated on the program's own current terms, including the gift amount, the processing fee, and what the program actually provides, rather than treated as a faster or more certain path simply because it exists alongside a slower employer-sponsored process. Because the Gold Card gift is not an investment and not a conventional visa petition, an applicant should understand precisely what participating does and does not change about their existing immigration posture before committing any funds, and should reverify the program's current terms directly on the official page rather than relying on secondhand descriptions.