Bitcoin ranked first
11 / 15
Completed calendar years from 2011 through 2025.
Bitcoin research
Bitcoin led 11 of 15 completed years
The original Bitwise chart ended in 2024. This return quilt adds the completed 2025 calendar year and 2026 year-to-date, using a consistent set of transparent market proxies from best to worst.
2025 leader
Gold
+63.7% for the completed calendar year.
2026 YTD leader
Commodities
+33.5% through Aug. 10, 2026.
Ranked annual performance
The winners rotate. Bitcoin's range does not.
Each column ranks eight asset proxies from best to worst for that year. The final column is 2026 year-to-date—not a completed calendar year.
BitcoinBTC
U.S. equitiesSPY
DM equitiesEFA
EM equitiesEEM
U.S. bondsBND
U.S. REITsVNQ
CommoditiesDBC
GoldGLD
| Rank | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTDthrough Aug. 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bitcoin+1390% | Bitcoin+204% | Bitcoin+5327% | U.S. REITs+30.4% | Bitcoin+37.7% | Bitcoin+124% | Bitcoin+1216% | U.S. bonds+0.1% | Bitcoin+86.8% | Bitcoin+300% | Bitcoin+63.3% | Commodities+19.3% | Bitcoin+154% | Bitcoin+120% | Gold+63.7% | Commodities+33.5% |
| #2 | Gold+9.6% | EM equities+19.1% | U.S. equities+32.3% | U.S. equities+13.5% | U.S. REITs+2.4% | Commodities+18.6% | EM equities+37.3% | Gold-1.9% | U.S. equities+31.2% | Gold+24.8% | Commodities+41.4% | Gold-0.8% | U.S. equities+26.2% | Gold+26.7% | EM equities+34.0% | EM equities+19.8% |
| #3 | U.S. REITs+8.6% | DM equities+18.8% | DM equities+21.4% | U.S. bonds+5.8% | U.S. equities+1.2% | U.S. equities+12.0% | DM equities+25.1% | U.S. equities-4.6% | U.S. REITs+28.9% | U.S. equities+18.3% | U.S. REITs+40.5% | U.S. bonds-13.1% | DM equities+18.4% | U.S. equities+24.9% | DM equities+31.6% | DM equities+14.3% |
| #4 | U.S. bonds+7.9% | U.S. REITs+17.6% | U.S. REITs+2.3% | Gold-2.2% | U.S. bonds+0.6% | EM equities+10.9% | U.S. equities+21.7% | U.S. REITs-6.0% | DM equities+22.0% | EM equities+17.0% | U.S. equities+28.7% | DM equities-14.4% | Gold+12.7% | EM equities+6.5% | U.S. equities+17.7% | U.S. equities+14.0% |
| #5 | U.S. equities+1.9% | U.S. equities+16.0% | U.S. bonds-2.1% | EM equities-3.9% | DM equities-1.0% | U.S. REITs+8.6% | Gold+12.8% | Commodities-11.6% | EM equities+18.2% | U.S. bonds+7.7% | DM equities+11.4% | U.S. equities-18.2% | U.S. REITs+11.8% | U.S. REITs+4.8% | Commodities+8.1% | U.S. REITs+11.6% |
| #6 | Commodities-2.6% | Gold+6.6% | EM equities-3.6% | DM equities-6.2% | Gold-10.7% | Gold+8.0% | U.S. REITs+4.9% | DM equities-13.8% | Gold+17.9% | DM equities+7.6% | U.S. bonds-1.9% | EM equities-20.6% | EM equities+8.9% | DM equities+3.5% | U.S. bonds+7.1% | Gold+0.9% |
| #7 | DM equities-12.2% | Commodities+3.5% | Commodities-7.6% | Commodities-28.1% | EM equities-16.2% | U.S. bonds+2.5% | Commodities+4.9% | EM equities-15.3% | Commodities+11.8% | U.S. REITs-4.6% | EM equities-3.6% | U.S. REITs-26.3% | U.S. bonds+5.7% | Commodities+2.2% | U.S. REITs+3.3% | U.S. bonds-0.3% |
| #8 | EM equities-18.8% | U.S. bonds+2.9% | Gold-28.3% | Bitcoin-57.8% | Commodities-27.6% | DM equities+1.4% | U.S. bonds+4.0% | Bitcoin-69.3% | U.S. bonds+8.8% | Commodities-7.8% | Gold-4.2% | Bitcoin-64.8% | Commodities-6.2% | U.S. bonds+1.4% | Bitcoin-4.6% | Bitcoin-26.6% |
The full quilt fits within wide desktop screens. On smaller screens, swipe horizontally to move through the years. Fund proxies: SPY, EFA, EEM, BND, VNQ, DBC, and GLD. Traditional assets use adjusted close, including distributions and splits; Bitcoin uses BTC/USD market price. Results will differ modestly from the original Bitwise/Bloomberg index set.
What changed after 2024
Gold won 2025; commodities lead 2026 YTD
In 2025, Gold returned +63.7%, while Bitcoin returned -4.6%. Developed and emerging-market equities also outpaced U.S. equities.
In 2026 through Aug. 10, broad commodities ranked first while Bitcoin sat at the bottom of this partial-year ranking. That column is useful context, not a verdict on the full year.
The deeper lesson is dispersion. Leadership rotates even when a single asset dominates the long-run cumulative return. The path matters for liquidity, risk tolerance, and rebalancing.
Methodology
One transparent proxy per asset class
The traditional assets use SPY, EFA, EEM, BND, VNQ, DBC, and GLD. Each calendar return is calculated from adjusted close at the end of the prior year to adjusted close at year-end. This includes fund distributions and splits.
Bitcoin uses Blockchain.com's daily BTC/USD market-price series. It has no distribution adjustment. The 2026 figures use the latest common date available when the chart was prepared.
Sources: market histories from Yahoo Finance and BTC/USD from Blockchain.com. The chart concept was inspired by Bitwise's annual asset-class ranking.
Frequently asked questions
Does 2026 represent a full-year return?
No. The 2026 column is year-to-date through Aug. 10, 2026. It can change materially before the calendar year ends and is labeled separately throughout the page.
Why do these values differ from the Bitwise chart?
The supplied Bitwise image uses a Bloomberg index set that is not fully identified in the screenshot. This chart uses transparent, investable ETF proxies and adjusted-close total returns, so small differences are expected.
Do the stock and bond returns include distributions?
Yes. The ETF calculations use adjusted close, which reflects distributions and splits. Bitcoin uses the change in the BTC/USD market price and does not have distributions.
Does winning most years make Bitcoin lower risk?
No. Bitcoin also finished last in several completed years and experienced much larger gains and losses than the traditional assets. The quilt shows rank and return, not risk-adjusted performance.
Two charts, two questions
Rank by year or compare across periods
This quilt answers “what won each year?” The separate return calculator answers “what compounded most over my chosen timeframe?” Keeping both views prevents a single calendar year from standing in for long-term performance.
Open the return calculator