There is no second best: Bitcoin consistently outperforms all major assets despite near-term selloff

As global markets hit the skids this week and forced liquidations and margin calls wipe out more levered longs, prominent traders are repositioning accordingly. New tariffs announced by the Trump administration and a sharply weaker U.S. jobs report caused anxiety in global markets; the S&P 500 lost 1.6% in a day, and Bitcoin, true to form, followed risk sentiment lower.

In times of uncertainty, it pays to use a wider lens: over the last two years, Bitcoin has consistently outperformed all major assets, and nothing else comes close.

Bitcoin vs major assets: the 2-year scorecard

Between July 2023 and July 2025, Bitcoin rallied by an eyewatering 301.7% more than quadrupling in price and cementing itself as the top-performing major asset class. As ecoinometrics points out:

“Bitcoin is dipping again but the long-term picture hasn’t changed… This isn’t a one-off. For two years now, Bitcoin has been a consistent leader.”

Bitcoin’s performance vastly dwarfs traditional stock investments. The leading U.S. stock benchmark, the S&P 500, delivered a far more modest 38% return over the past two years. Despite a strong equities market and multiple record highs for large-cap stocks, the index couldn’t match BTC’s explosive momentum.

Gold, which had a stellar run in its own right, stoked by rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, rose 69.8% over the last two years, and couldn’t come close to returning Bitcoin’s gains, proving all laser-eyed Bitcoin maxis right: there is no second best. As Adam Back commented:

“there is no second best. only runner up is treasury companies.”

Even looking at the crypto industry’s number-two coin, Ethereum, only serves to further illustrate Back’s point: ETH posted a roughly 56% gain over the last 24 months.

Bringing up the rear among the major assets is crude oil which saw only marginal growth over the last two years, with returns oscillating and ending flat by summer 2025..

Why Bitcoin keeps leading

The recent selloff has more to do with macroeconomic jitters, tariffs, and employment worries than any change in Bitcoin’s fundamental value proposition. Bitcoin’s volatility still tracks closely with broader market nerves during such risk-off stretches. But for two years straight, Bitcoin has shaken off the corrections like a champ and set the pace for asset growth.

Its predictable supply schedule, decentralized nature, and increasing adoption by both retail and institutional investors have kept the rally alive.

Meanwhile, Ethereum remains competitive but has not been able to outpace BTC, and gold’s reliable inflation hedge status has still meant far smaller returns. Crude oil continues to struggle under the weight of shifting energy trends and macroeconomic pressures, providing little of the performance or excitement seen in digital and financial assets.

Bitcoin’s short-term slumps may look dramatic, but pullbacks are part of its DNA and the data doesn’t lie: since mid-2023, BTC has trounced gold, U.S. stocks, Ethereum, and crude oil. If in doubt, zoom out, as ecoinometrics states:

“maybe it’s not worth panicking over a move that looks more sentiment-driven than based on fundamentals.”

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