The debate over whether Bitcoin remains on the podium of the most attractive asset on the market returned to center stagebut with a somewhat uncomfortable twist. It all depends from where you look at it.
Over the past five years, it has lagged far behind other traditional assets, reviving criticism of its “store of value” narrative. But not everything is what it seems.
Bitcoin vs. Wall Street: the debate
Economist Peter Schiff, through his account of X, put concrete numbers on the table: “While Bitcoin advanced just 12% in that period, the Nasdaq Composite rose 57.4%, the S&P 500 59.4%, gold 163% and silver 181%.“.
According to the renowned expert, the conclusion is direct: “If Bitcoin’s appeal is its long-term outperformance, that argument is now in doubt.“. The answer did not take long to arrive.
For Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy, the problem is not in the data, but in the cut. Since August 2020, a point that coincides with the beginning of its corporate adoption and a new global liquidity cycle, Bitcoin became the best performing asset in the universe mainstreamwith an advantage that, he maintains, expands the further the horizon extends.
Investment expert Luis Ayala maintains that, among the historical references of the ecosystem, a clear definition persists: “Bitcoin is digital gold, and we couldn’t agree more“He adds that “while both clearly have intrinsic value, Bitcoin is designed for the Internet age.” He also maintains, in line with Saylor, that he gained more than 600% in the last five years.
“Plus, it has one of the best Sharpe ratios and risk/reward opportunities compared to other investments. Such performance places it among the highest-performing assets during that periodalthough with a series of episodes of volatility,” says Ayala.
According to his vision, “the analysis is not only about the price, but also about the evolution of the infrastructure“. He believes that the market has become more stable, with higher expectations regarding custody, regulation and the development of institutional participation over time.
“In today’s financial ecosystem, banks, fintechs and professional investors are using Bitcoin within more sophisticated risk management frameworks.. At the same time, its use in the everyday economy became consolidated, particularly in emerging markets; Now we are seeing an everyday use of cryptocurrencies that would have been unthinkable in Latin America 5 years ago“he adds.
And adds that Today, many users use cryptocurrencies to make payments, send remittances, or as a store of value in inflationary environments.turning to digital wallets and similar solutions that make this technology more accessible.
“This double evolution (institutional and daily) is fundamental to understanding the resilience of the ecosystem. This process transforms the nature of the asset: it goes from being a purely speculative phenomenon to gradually integrating into the global financial framework.“he warns.
Bitcoin is not linear: the key that divides waters
Jerónimo Ferrer, Bitfinex business development manager for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, highlights that the debate between figures like Saylor and Schiff reflects, at its core, two different ways of understanding Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies: “As a long-term store of value or as a highly volatile speculative asset. Rather than determining who is right, what is relevant is to observe the empirical behavior of the asset.”
“Bitcoin went from levels close to US$8,000-10,000 in 2020 to ranges around US$65,000-70,000 in 2026which implies a cumulative appreciation of more than 600% in the period, even considering intermediate bearish cycles,” he slides, in line with Ayala.
He assures that “This positions it as one of the best performing assets of the last decadealthough with a greater volatility than that of traditional assets”.
“At Bitfinex we analyze this performance in three dimensions. First, its cyclical nature: Bitcoin continues to show patterns associated with events such as the halving, with well-marked expansion and correction phases“, he assures.
Second, the growing participation of traditional investors stands out, which raised the price floors in each cycle, even in adverse macro contexts. “Institutional participation through spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs)who together hold hundreds of thousands of BTC, generated persistent structural demand that did not exist before“.
The list also highlights the selling price of Bitcoin, that is, the average cost in the blockchain of all currencies. “It is now significantly above the lows of previous cycles and, historically, acted as a deep value limit during major corrections.”
Thirdly, Ferrer highlights that the digital currency “It has a correlation with risk assets: in the short term it behaves more like a technological asset than ‘digital gold’, which explains sudden movements in the face of global shocks”.
The analyst suggests that Bitcoin should not be evaluated in absolute terms but rather relative to the time horizon: “In the short term, it may validate the most skeptical stance due to its volatility, but in windows of five years or more, its historical performance reinforces the narrative of structural appreciation. “That duality is precisely what keeps the debate alive.”
