Bitcoins 2025 performance summary

[pawel7777]

2025 was a solid victory for precious metals but bitcoin did pretty well too imo. It did like 200% or something after  Trump got elected and hit $124k or something. Btc gave lots of chances to cash out. If people missed their chance, they can wait the next ATH and they’ll probably be glad if they wait for it because the next btc bull run will be more brutal than ever. I expect btc to reach $1 million till 2030 and that’s a big opportunity.

Talking purely about the calendar year 2025, Bitcoin did not do pretty well, that's what this topic is about. Investing in BTC on the 1st Jan 2025 would yield a negative return of -5.21% at the date of when I started this topic. Updating for today, it dropped further by 1% to a negative 6.34%. So pretty much any popular traditional instruments did better than Bitcoin in this timeframe.
Sure, I hope most of the Bitcoiners who wanted to play this cycle (rather than hold indefinitely) would be in the profit anyway, as they knew when to get in and out. But the point is, Bitcoin is not necessarily as profitable as it used to be, and its nature is changing from a highly speculative get-rich-quick scheme to something different.

[wozzek23]

Overall I think it was a pretty good year. We saw a new ATH, the pullback wasn't big, actually it was much smaller than expected. For traders, the high volatility made it profitable. For holders, it was a good year too since the price didn't drop too much.

A pullback is a short-term price drop, so that makes the drop small only but is there a big pullback too that occurred before? There are people that expect for more pump, so maybe the pump is only small and that also makes the pullback to be small as well.

If we are talking about a normal dip, I think it was a pretty decent dip. Holders are in for the long-term, so it is only fine even if the price drop a lot. There might still be hodlers that benefits on the last time pump of Bitcoin, especially the early hodlers.

[Jubilee58]

As we're approaching the end of 2025, with only a week to go, it could be a good time to check Bitcoin's performance this calendar year so far, and compare it to other major type of investment instruments.

According to Google chart, Bitcoin's year-to-date return is a loss of -5.21% as compared to the beginning of the year (data at 22 Dec 2025)

The YTD return on other major classes of assets are (in order of profitability):

Source: https://creativeplanning.com/periodic-table

So despite breaking the new ATH, it was not a great year for Bitcoin. 2025 was definitely a year of precious metals, with gold and silver bringing some crazy returns (Gold: almost +70%, Silver: almost +120%).
I think this could be the beginning of the shift in perception of Bitcoin as a high risk - high return asset and it might start to be seen as something more stable, especially when each of the halvings will have much lesser impact on the supply (resulting in the end of 4-year cycles).

Just wanted to post this to put things in perspective, as many seem to believe that BTC is still outperforming other markets.
Discussion welcome.

This year may not be the nest year for bitcoin, but then, bitcoin did not also perform badly. When we talk of all the major cryptocurrencies, bitcoin outperformed them all picking from its all time low to it's all time high time of 2025, and those who started very early must have recorded big gains in from bitcoin. And I want to believe that , despite the performance of bitcoin this season which breached the expectations of many investors, history Bitcoin has outperformed these assets mentioned above and it is believed that bitcoin still hold more and potentials than these elements mentioned above.

[livingfree]

That is a good comparison if it's compared to the other performing assets based on their YTD.

No doubt that it has gone low because of how high it has reached this year and then ending it under $100k makes it negative from that point.

And I guess that it will be lower for next year when it's assumed to be the bear market.

[STT]

Problem here to consider is  perspective bias, the end of year results are themselves a kind of feedback loop if we can weigh the problem into consideration.    Too many performance narratives look at year to date and yearly performance, add in tax considerations that don't apply uniformly worldwide but vary by country and law then you have some viewer distortion in the figures.

I'm not saying ignore this idea of yearly performance but its far from the only view I will look at.   I think trend is more important and its not date bound but more like volume and momentum based.
  IMO we have further development in BTC and its not set in its course just yet, positively or negatively.  December candle has been a Doji, that indecision is quite telling in my view of a 2025 summary.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Up until early October, Bitcoin was one of the best performing assets this year. There has been a major drawdown since that period, making Bitcoin a very notable outlier, being the only asset class with a negative year according to the OP’s graphic.

With the volatility that Bitcoin is known for, it’s not something which gives me pessimism. At certain timeframes in 2025, it was up 100% on the 1 year chart. Things can change very quickly. I don’t expect gold and silver to remain so bullish. The AI bubble could also burst. There are many reasons to believe fresh capital coming into Bitcoin and rotation from other types of investments can lead to a better performance in 2026.

[DanWalker]

Up until early October, Bitcoin was one of the best performing assets this year. There has been a major drawdown since that period, making Bitcoin a very notable outlier, being the only asset class with a negative year according to the OP’s graphic.

With the volatility that Bitcoin is known for, it’s not something which gives me pessimism. At certain timeframes in 2025, it was up 100% on the 1 year chart. Things can change very quickly. I don’t expect gold and silver to remain so bullish. The AI bubble could also burst. There are many reasons to believe fresh capital coming into Bitcoin and rotation from other types of investments can lead to a better performance in 2026.

If only from the beginning of the year, bitcoin has never been the best performing asset this year. It has reached $100k since the beginning of the year, and the highest ATH in mid-October was only $126k, which is only about a 26% increase. How can we say it was the best performing asset until early October?

Gold and silver are rising in price due to global uncertainty and macroeconomic concerns. If the AI ​​bubble bursts, it will only make things worse. Gold and silver will continue to rise further, money will not flow into bitcoin. So don't expect that to happen, it's not good for bitcoin because it's just a speculative asset.

[FinneysTrueVision]

If only from the beginning of the year, bitcoin has never been the best performing asset this year. It has reached $100k since the beginning of the year, and the highest ATH in mid-October was only $126k, which is only about a 26% increase. How can we say it was the best performing asset until early October?

I never said it was THE best, I said it was one of the best. Until October 6th, I believe only gold had performed better and it was only by a few percentage points.

Gold and silver are rising in price due to global uncertainty and macroeconomic concerns. If the AI ​​bubble bursts, it will only make things worse. Gold and silver will continue to rise further, money will not flow into bitcoin. So don't expect that to happen, it's not good for bitcoin because it's just a speculative asset.

There are many factors which can influence Bitcoin’s price. My assumption is based on normal circumstances, where we have a stable economic and political environment. Obviously, these are completely unpredictable variables, that’s why it’s a statement of possibility rather than a factual assertion.

[colinistheman]

It's an eye on the need to diversify our assets or investments. I am sure that real estate performs very well in my country. Many people who bought land and houses made good returns. Bitcoin is a viable asset; however, we shouldn't focus on just Bitcoin because there are still opportunities in other investments.

Diversifying your investment portfolio is recommended because it can help mitigate risk and has the potential to generate better returns. But if we have limited capital and time, focusing on a single market (bitcoin) isn't necessarily a bad thing.
We shouldn't jump into metals just because they performed well this year while lacking real understanding of that market. Investing in something we don't understand exposes us to more risks than potential profits.

Furthermore, every market experiences different periods of ups and downs. Comparing the growth phase of one market with the correction phase of another, and rushing to conclusions is misleading and inaccurate.

[DPHOR]

Overall I think it was a pretty good year. We saw a new ATH, the pullback wasn't big, actually it was much smaller than expected. For traders, the high volatility made it profitable. For holders, it was a good year too since the price didn't drop too much. Those who wanted to were able to add coins at prices that aren't considered very high. If next year goes in a similar way, that would be great. The best way is to invest regularly without paying too much attention to disaster scenarios.

Of course I believed that anyone who must stay long on the market must also learn to pay deaf ears to any disaster or whatever that may seems to affects the market negatively and follow their investment strategies, irrespective of whatever that happened to the market.
Only those who are determined can actually continue their DCA when there seems to be a little declines in the market without overly being aggressive on their investment or having that fair and doubt that the market would never recover anymore or again.

[Smack That Ace]

To say 2025 was a very bad year would be unfair to Bitcoin; it wasn't a bad year, nor was it a good year. At least it was a year in which we saw an all-time high. What makes it bad? Precious metals increased significantly during this period, especially gold and silver, while Bitcoin's price lagged far behind theirs this year. I hope 2026 will be a much better year.

Since Bitcoin has grown and reached ATHs, it's unfair to say that 2025 will be a bad year for Bitcoin. But if we compare this year, this cycle, with previous growth cycles like 2017 and 2021. It can be said that this year has been the worst ever, with Bitcoin failing to even double its most recent cycle peak of $69k. In previous cycles, it has increased at least threefold or more.

And in terms of performance in 2025, Bitcoin also underperformed compared to other assets such as gold, silver, or stocks. Most of these asset classes rose by at least 10-15% for stocks, while gold increased by 72% and silver by 170%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has fallen by about 10% from its price at the beginning of the year.

The rapid surge in gold and silver prices is not a positive sign for the upcoming economy. Therefore, instead of being optimistic, I would be much more cautious about bitcoin in 2026.

[pawel7777]

Since Bitcoin has grown and reached ATHs, it's unfair to say that 2025 will be a bad year for Bitcoin. But if we compare this year, this cycle, with previous growth cycles like 2017 and 2021. It can be said that this year has been the worst ever, with Bitcoin failing to even double its most recent cycle peak of $69k. In previous cycles, it has increased at least threefold or more.
(...)

The higher the market cap, the harder it becomes to yield returns as high as those seen in 2021 or 2017 (not to mention previous cycles), but failing to achieve an x2 is definitely disappointing. I think everyone was hoping for $150k as a minimum (some still do).
Considering growth from the 2021 ATH to the 2025 ATH, the yield was around 85% in 4 years, which converts to around 21% average annual yield. This is still not bad when compared to traditional investments, but not quite as high as one would expect from something still considered to be a high-risk asset.

[passwordnow]

I think everyone was hoping for $150k as a minimum (some still do).
Considering growth from the 2021 ATH to the 2025 ATH, the yield was around 85% in 4 years, which converts to around 21% average annual yield. This is still not bad when compared to traditional investments, but not quite as high as one would expect from something still considered to be a high-risk asset.

That is true, many are still hopeful for $150k but it seems that we should pass it on for the next bull run after 4 years. And from the 2 bull runs that we went through as you've said, it's still better compared to the other assets. People who are anxious with how it's moving for Bitcoin needs to zoom out the charts if they're having doubts at it. It's not yet the end of its growth, there's more room for it but it's always been the most patient ones that are greatly rewarded. Let's include the pandemic time on the chart to the start of this December. Everyone really has to zoom out the charts when they're panicking.

[Danica22]

I think everyone was hoping for $150k as a minimum (some still do).
Considering growth from the 2021 ATH to the 2025 ATH, the yield was around 85% in 4 years, which converts to around 21% average annual yield. This is still not bad when compared to traditional investments, but not quite as high as one would expect from something still considered to be a high-risk asset.

That is true, many are still hopeful for $150k but it seems that we should pass it on for the next bull run after 4 years. And from the 2 bull runs that we went through as you've said, it's still better compared to the other assets. People who are anxious with how it's moving for Bitcoin needs to zoom out the charts if they're having doubts at it. It's not yet the end of its growth, there's more room for it but it's always been the most patient ones that are greatly rewarded. Let's include the pandemic time on the chart to the start of this December. Everyone really has to zoom out the charts when they're panicking.

We've entered a bear market, those who still believe bitcoin will reach $150k simply aren't willing to face reality.

If we compare based on historical data from the past to the present, no asset has outperformed Bitcoin. But the past doesn't reflect the future, and many people won't care about it because they don't benefit from it. So let's look at the present and the future. Bitcoin still offers better returns than some traditional assets, but the truth is it can no longer deliver the massive 10-20x returns that many people expect. It can be confidently stated that the era of getting rich quick with Bitcoin is over.
This will certainly disappoint many people because their goal when investing in bitcoin was to make huge profits and become millionaires like the early investors.

[passwordnow]

That is true, many are still hopeful for $150k but it seems that we should pass it on for the next bull run after 4 years. And from the 2 bull runs that we went through as you've said, it's still better compared to the other assets. People who are anxious with how it's moving for Bitcoin needs to zoom out the charts if they're having doubts at it. It's not yet the end of its growth, there's more room for it but it's always been the most patient ones that are greatly rewarded. Let's include the pandemic time on the chart to the start of this December. Everyone really has to zoom out the charts when they're panicking.

We've entered a bear market, those who still believe bitcoin will reach $150k simply aren't willing to face reality.

If we compare based on historical data from the past to the present, no asset has outperformed Bitcoin. But the past doesn't reflect the future, and many people won't care about it because they don't benefit from it. So let's look at the present and the future. Bitcoin still offers better returns than some traditional assets, but the truth is it can no longer deliver the massive 10-20x returns that many people expect. It can be confidently stated that the era of getting rich quick with Bitcoin is over.
This will certainly disappoint many people because their goal when investing in bitcoin was to make huge profits and become millionaires like the early investors.

It's hard to face the reality but it's okay to be hopeful for the next season. I also think that we're done for the bull run since this year is about to come. But don't also be close that the cycle might be changed by 2026 as they say. But I am more clinging to the idea that we'll still follow the 4-year cycle and 2026 is the bear market. You've spit some reality about that, Bitcoin won't be moving more than 10x anymore since the price is quite expensive. But let's look at the brighter side, even it goes 1.25x to 2x from the point of its ATH, that's still huuuuuuge!