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Bitcoin's 2021 Returns Destroy Everything on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Says

Bitcoin's lead over assets from stocks to bonds, oil, banks, gold and tech stocks and the euro has widened.

By Damanick Dantes
AccessTimeIconMar 8, 2021 at 10:35 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:23 p.m. UTC
Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs, the storied Wall Street firm, didn't start including bitcoin in its weekly ranking of global asset-class returns until late January, when the largest cryptocurrency quietly appeared atop the chart.

But since then, bitcoin's lead over assets from stocks to bonds, oil, banks, gold and tech stocks and the euro has widened.

As of March 4, bitcoin's year-to-date return, at about 70%, was roughly double that for the next-closest competitor, the energy sector, at about 35%, according to Goldman Sachs' latest "U.S. Weekly Kickstart" report.

The comparisons could become even more flattering to bitcoin now that a recent bout of selling in U.S. stocks has taken the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's year-to-date return to roughly zero – flat on the year.

  • The recovery in oil prices and real yields has boosted year-to-date returns for cyclical sectors such as energy and financials, which are nevertheless underperforming bitcoin.
  • Crude oil and energy have a higher risk-adjusted return (Sharpe ratio) than bitcoin so far this year.
  • Gold is the worst-performing asset class year-to-date, as rising yields have punished traditionally defensive sectors such as consumer staples and utilities.
  • Based on prior CoinDesk reporting, bitcoin is viewed by many investors both in crypto and traditional markets as a potential inflation hedge, especially in an era where central banks around the world are pumping trillions of dollars of freshly created money into financial markets to stimulate coronavirus-racked economies. Even so, gold has lost about 10% on the year, prompting some market observers to argue that bitcoin is stealing market share from the yellow metal.
  • According to a survey, some 40% of Goldman clients have exposure to cryptocurrencies.
  • That's the case even though, as recently as May 2020, Goldman's money-management division argued in a presentation that cryptocurrencies were "not a suitable investments for our clients," merely a beneficiary of a "mania" worse than the infamous run on Dutch tulips in the 1600s.
Chart from Goldman Sachs research report shows how drastically bitcoin is beating all major traditional asset classes so far this year.
Chart from Goldman Sachs research report shows how drastically bitcoin is beating all major traditional asset classes so far this year.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.