Ranked: Bitcoin Returns vs. Major Asset Classes

Bitcoin Returns vs. Major Asset Classes

Bitcoin had an average annual return 230% in the 10 years between March 2011 and 2021, showing that, despite its volatility, it’s a top-performing asset class.

So, to investigate this further, Visual Capitalist has joined forces with Franklin Templeton to explore historical bitcoin returns and how they compare against other major asset classes.

Bitcoin vs. Popular Assets

One way to express risk-adjusted returns is using the Sharpe ratio, which describes an investment’s excess returns versus its volatility. 

So, the higher the Sharpe ratio, the better the risk-adjusted return. A Sharpe ratio of three or above would translate to ‘excellent’ risk-adjusted returns, whereas a Sharpe ratio of less than one would be ‘sub-optimal.’

Despite risk and volatility, bitcoin returns have been positive over one, five, and ten years.