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Bitcoin vs Gold vs S&P 500 — Asset Race · YTD

One starting line. Different markets. See who moved ahead.

Closed through 7 Oct 2026 · UTC

Leader · YTD Nasdaq 100 +23.4% 31 Dec 2025 → 7 Oct 2026
Last place Ethereum −13.4%
Gap first → last 36.8 pp NDX − ETH
Led the longest Nasdaq 100 164 of 280 days
Choose benchmarks 2–8 benchmarks, the race updates instantly · 6/8
31 Dec 2025 7 Oct 2026

Hover or drag across the chart to read any day; ← → keys step through days. Click a benchmark to hide or show its line.

The finish line

Return is only part of the picture. Compare drawdown, variability and time in the lead.

# Benchmark Return Max drawdown Volatility Days leading Rank changevs previous period
1 Nasdaq 100NDX · Best day +3.4% · Worst day −4.8% +23.4% −11.8% 20.2% 164 ▲ 3
2 S&P 500S&P · Best day +2.9% · Worst day −2.6% +14.0% −9.1% 13.0% 0 ▲ 3
3 US Dollar IndexDXY · Best day +0.8% · Worst day −0.9% +4.0% −3.2% 5.4% 1 ▲ 3
4 Gold futuresGOLD · Best day +6.1% · Worst day −10.8% −4.8% −24.9% 30.0% 97 ▼ 3
5 BitcoinBTC · Best day +12.2% · Worst day −14.0% −4.9% −39.5% 45.7% 1 ▼ 2
6 EthereumETH · Best day +17.5% · Worst day −15.0% −13.4% −53.3% 61.7% 17 ▼ 4

Five horizons. One view.

Tap a period to replay the same benchmarks across a different horizon.

Benchmark 1 week 1 month YTD 1 year 5 years
BTC −0.4% +5.3% −4.9% −31.3% +54.9%
ETH −4.2% +3.4% −13.4% −42.1% −28.2%
GOLD −1.3% −7.7% −4.8% +3.2% +135.0%
S&P +2.0% +1.1% +14.0% +16.2% +77.3%
NDX +2.5% +5.5% +23.4% +25.4% +109.2%
DXY +0.8% +3.1% +4.0% +3.7% +8.5%

Who won each year?

Complete calendar-year comparisons from 2018. Missing coverage is never treated as a zero return.

2025 Gold futures +64.4% Runner-up: NDX +20.2% Replay 2025 → 2024 Bitcoin +121.3% Runner-up: ETH +46.3% Replay 2024 → 2023 Bitcoin +155.6% Runner-up: ETH +90.8% Replay 2023 → 2022 US Dollar Index +8.2% Runner-up: GOLD −0.1% Replay 2022 → 2021 Ethereum +399.2% Runner-up: BTC +59.8% Replay 2021 → 2020 Ethereum +470.2% Runner-up: BTC +302.0% Replay 2020 → 2019 Bitcoin +94.3% Runner-up: NDX +38.0% Replay 2019 → 2018 US Dollar Index +4.4% Runner-up: NDX −1.0% No data: GOLD Replay 2018 →

How to compare Bitcoin, gold and stock indexes

YTD: Nasdaq 100 +23.4% · 31 Dec 2025 → 7 Oct 2026.

A common starting line

Comparing a Bitcoin price with an ounce of gold or an index level tells little about performance: the units and initial prices are different. Asset Race resets every selected benchmark to zero at the same starting observation. Each later value is the closing price divided by its starting close, minus one, expressed as a percentage. A line at ten percent means that the benchmark price rose ten percent over the chosen interval. It does not represent a portfolio, a recommendation, or the result of a particular trade. The starting and ending dates remain visible so the comparison can be checked and shared.

The period changes the answer

A weekly winner may trail over a year, while the strongest five-year performer can have a difficult month. The period matrix makes those differences visible without changing the benchmark set. Week means seven completed calendar days, month and year use calendar offsets, and year to date starts from the previous December close. Custom dates let you investigate a specific episode. Choosing a start immediately before a rally can change the ranking substantially, so one attractive interval should never stand in for the entire history. Inspect several horizons and the annual results before drawing conclusions about persistent performance.

Different calendars, one daily grid

Crypto markets trade throughout weekends. Stock indexes follow exchange sessions, and commodity and currency instruments have their own schedules. This comparison uses completed daily observations on a common UTC grid. When a traditional market is closed, its last available close is carried forward; no new price is interpolated for that day. Missing data during an expected trading session is treated differently from a holiday and can make an instrument unavailable. The seven-day race therefore contains daily facts rather than invented hourly movement. Smooth playback reveals those facts over time, while pausing or moving the slider exposes the exact observation.

Return comes with risk

Final return answers who moved further, but not how difficult the journey was. Maximum drawdown measures the largest decline from an earlier closing-price peak within the selected interval. It does not capture a deeper intraday fall between closes. Volatility here is the sample standard deviation of daily logarithmic returns on the common calendar grid, annualized by the square root of 365; closed-market carry days have zero return. This definition makes the calculation reproducible, but differs from trading-session measures annualized with 252 observations. Best and worst days show daily extremes. Very short windows produce unstable estimates and should be interpreted cautiously.

Know which instrument is being measured

Bitcoin and Ethereum use Binance spot pairs quoted in USDT as disclosed dollar price proxies. USDT is not guaranteed to equal USD at every moment. Gold and silver use continuous futures price series, which may reflect contract changes, roll effects and differences from spot metal prices. S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones are price indexes and exclude reinvested dividends. DXY measures the dollar against a currency basket; its change is not the interest earned on dollar cash. Euro and pound benchmarks represent their exchange rates against USD. These instruments must not be silently replaced with ETFs, perpetual contracts or total-return series.

Replay, logarithmic display and reproducibility

For long periods, large crypto moves can flatten other lines on a linear chart. The logarithmic option transforms the wealth ratio while retaining ordinary percentage labels and the shared zero starting point. It changes visual spacing, not returns or ranking. Bar race orders participants by signed cumulative return and keeps a visible zero reference. Days leading count completed observations after the initial point; tied leaders share a day. Rank change compares the same set with the preceding comparable interval. Saving a race creates an immutable snapshot, so a social link or generated video continues to show the same dates and values after live history refreshes.

Sources, coverage and practical limits

The page reads stored benchmark history rather than fetching external prices on every visit. Crypto closes come from the existing exchange candle store, and traditional instruments use the existing Yahoo Finance chart provider. Data can be delayed or revised, and the most recent common verified cutoff is shown. Complete annual comparisons begin in 2018, subject to actual coverage; earlier or incomplete years are explicitly marked. Fees, taxes, inflation, staking, storage costs and dividend reinvestment are outside this price comparison. Past price performance cannot establish future returns. Use the tool to describe historical facts and ask better questions, not to infer a promise about what happens next.

Sources and limitations

BitcoinBinance BTCUSDT spot · USDT proxy

EthereumBinance ETHUSDT spot · USDT proxy

Gold futuresYahoo GC=F · continuous futures proxy

S&P 500Yahoo ^GSPC · price index, no dividends

Nasdaq 100Yahoo ^NDX · price index, no dividends

US Dollar IndexYahoo DX-Y.NYB · currency basket, not cash

Frequently asked questions

Why do all assets start at 0%?

Normalization compares relative price changes rather than incompatible price units.

Is gold spot or futures?

Gold uses the disclosed Yahoo GC=F continuous futures proxy, not spot XAUUSD.

What happens on weekends?

Closed markets carry the last close; crypto continues to use its actual daily closes.

Are dividends included?

No. Stock indexes are price indexes; dividends, staking and fees are excluded.

Is DXY the return on dollar cash?

No. DXY tracks a currency basket; it is not cash interest.

Does logarithmic mode change the winner?

No. It changes chart spacing while keeping returns and standings identical.

Can the result predict future returns?

No. Past prices describe a historical period and do not establish future results.

Historical price changes are not forecasts or investment advice. Index dividends, staking, fees, taxes and inflation are excluded. Gold and silver are continuous futures proxies; BTC and ETH use USDT spot price proxies. DXY measures a currency basket, not cash interest.