Bitcoin Returns Outpace Mainstream Assets Over Past Decade

Investing $1,000 in Bitcoin on September 3, 2016, would have resulted in roughly $126,810 today, a gain of about 12,381%. This is according to calculations that exclude trading fees and taxes.

The annualized return of 62% beats every mainstream asset since 2016. For comparison, the Nasdaq Composite returned around 18%, the S&P 500 around 14%, and gold around 13% over the same period.

Bitcoin suffered significant drawdowns, including a 70% crash, but major institutions across Wall Street now hold Bitcoin directly or through spot ETFs. This adoption has raised questions about future returns, as they are unlikely to match those of the past decade.