One of the first striking facts a crypto investor learns is the long-term chart shape of Bitcoin. The systematically rising logarithmic curve could be evidence of the explosion in Bitcoin‘s price over the last 15 years. The impressive performance of Bitcoin has led Willy Woo to compare the oldest cryptocurrency with today’s largest asset classes.
Bitcoin Making Waves in the Commodity Market
When comparing the annual performances of all major assets, it turns out that Bitcoin has performed better than all its competitors in three out of four years. Willy Woo compares the annual performance of the largest asset classes with Bitcoin in a chart he recently published on X.
These include gold, S&P 500 Total Return Index (SPX), S&P US Aggregate Bond Index (AGG), US High Yield Corporate Bond Index (HY), Dow Jones Emerging Markets Total Return Index (EM), and Dow Jones Commodity Index (CMT).
Willy Woo compiled the performance of the last 11 years from 2013 to 2023. During this period, the cryptocurrency market went through almost three four-year cycles and experienced three bear markets. Periodic annual declines cause Bitcoin to fall to the bottom of the global asset ranking, recording declines ranging from 58% to 73%.
Striking Performance from Bitcoin
Apart from the years of decline when it might be better to stay away from the crypto market, Bitcoin stands out as the clear leader. In the years of annual increase, Bitcoin managed to make profits ranging from 37% to 5516%. The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Total Return Index (EM) had the highest gain of 35% over the analyzed 11 years. Willy Woo added an ironic comment about the Bitcoin ETF fund recently launched by Blackrock in a comment about his compilation:
“Blackrock will really tell you this because they now have a product to offer you.”
Today, to confirm the dominance of Bitcoin highlighted by Willy Woo, one can look at the long-term charts of Bitcoin against gold and SPX. The first compares the return on a $1 investment when Bitcoin first received its market price in 2009. If Bitcoin had been bought for about $1 14.5 years ago and held until today, the investment would now be equivalent to $38.5 million. In contrast, investing the same $1 in gold at that time would have yielded only $1.94.
