Speculating on which market will dominate the coming years or decades is a notoriously difficult task. Will it be Bitcoin, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, or perhaps something we are not even considering today? Investors and analysts alike can make compelling arguments for each, but speculation alone is not enough to guide sound decisions. While many assume that, as a Bitcoin analyst, I am automatically biased toward BTC, my goal here is to step back, take a strictly objective and data-driven approach, and determine when Bitcoin truly is the best place for capital, and when it may make sense to rotate into other opportunities.
Relative Performance
Looking at the Bitcoin Relative Growth chart, it is clear that over the past year, BTC has been the best-performing asset. However, zooming out to a five-year window paints a more nuanced picture. There have been stretches when Tesla outperformed Bitcoin, and even longer periods where Apple, the S&P 500, or the Dow Jones looked like safer bets.
Figure 1: Over the past 12 months, BTC has generally outperformed other baseline assets.
Meanwhile, assets like Property Priced in BTC have consistently underperformed, challenging the conventional wisdom that real estate is always a strong store of value. The lesson is clear: no single asset dominates at all times. By tracking relative strength, we can spot when it makes sense to rotate capital to chase better risk-adjusted returns.
Figure 2: Using US property values priced in BTC as an example, we observe a similar downward macro trend across most asset classes compared to Bitcoin.
Ratio’d
Instead of just looking at assets in US dollar terms, which itself is a depreciating benchmark due to inflation, it can be more insightful to compare assets against Bitcoin directly. For example, when pricing Bitcoin in Gold, the trend shows that BTC still outperforms across cycles, but an investor who bought Bitcoin at the very top of the last bull market would have been better off simply holding Gold until today. The same method can be applied to equities and industries, using ratio charts to highlight when a sector is outperforming Bitcoin and when it isn’t. This approach filters out noise and narratives, focusing only on the metric that ultimately matters: true value.
Figure 3: In Gold terms, Bitcoin currently sits below the 2021 cycle peaks, and has only marginally surpassed this level earlier this cycle.
Finding The Fastest Horse
Platforms like TradingView provide hundreds of industry indexes, covering everything from aerospace to AI, semiconductors, and even entertainment. By dividing these indices by BTC, we can see which industries truly outperform. Across 127 of their own ‘Sparks’ indexes of different categories, the overwhelming majority have underperformed Bitcoin over time. However, a handful stand out. Sectors like leisure, mobile gaming, and space stocks have shown relative strength, with some maintaining a steady uptrend against Bitcoin since mid-2024.
Figure 4: This chart illustrates how Leisure sector stocks, as determined by TradingView’s Spark index for this industry, have periodically outperformed BTC.
Much of the investment community is focused on AI and quantum computing, with predictions that they will reshape the global economy. Yet, the data shows a different story. Despite the hype, most AI stocks have underperformed Bitcoin and remain below long-term moving averages. Quantum computing companies, such as IonQ, IBM, and Google, have also been trending downward. Interestingly, when directly compared, quantum computing has significantly outperformed AI on a relative basis, suggesting that if either sector is set to surge, quantum may offer stronger upside potential. Still, both remain speculative, and until their charts show stronger breakouts versus BTC, they remain more of a watchlist item than an allocation target.
Figure 5: A direct comparison between Quantum Computing and AI stocks reveals superior performance from the Quantum sector.
Conclusion
After analyzing over 127 indexes, multiple asset classes and industries, altcoins, and even building custom indices, the conclusion is clear: Bitcoin remains the best risk-adjusted return asset available today. All other industries are in a macro downtrend compared to BTC, and to add to that, Bitcoin’s transparency through on-chain data and predictable supply dynamics allows us to identify accumulation and distribution phases with a degree of accuracy unmatched by equities or commodities. Unlike stocks, which can crash due to corporate scandals or sudden regulatory changes, Bitcoin’s price is driven primarily by supply and demand economics that we can observe in real time. For investors willing to take a contrarian, data-driven approach, Bitcoin continues to offer the best opportunity to outperform not just within the cryptocurrency sphere, but across the entire global investment landscape.
For a more in-depth look into this topic, check out a recent YouTube video here:
Bitcoin, Quantum Computing, AI? What Is The BEST Investment
Matt Crosby
Lead Analyst - Bitcoin Magazine Pro