Buying $BTC at the start of the year and holding patiently until the end still resulted in an 8% loss.
Today, Bitcoin trades above $87,000, yet back in early January 2025 it was hovering near $95,000.
If safety selling hadn’t kicked in around $126,000, a full-year hold would still be underwater.
One year of volatility.
One year of emotions.
And still… negative returns 😅
According to PANews’ 2025 asset return comparison (based on the first trading day of the year vs. current data):
Bitcoin: -6%
Gold: +66.83%
A-shares: +20.23%
Individual results may vary, and profits or losses aren’t the debate here — the data is.
And the data says something uncomfortable:
Making money in crypto this year was hard. Losing money was average. 🙈
Zooming out from 2015 to 2025, Bitcoin has always lived at the extremes — either the best-performing asset or the worst.
Historically, its four-year cycle showed explosive bull markets in 2017 and 2021, followed by deep pain in the first year of transition, then gradual recovery.
But 2025 broke the rhythm.
The bull market arrived early.
Peaked around October.
And exited even faster.
By year-end, Bitcoin was already down nearly 8 percentage points.
If history rhymes, the next year could be even tougher — mentally and financially.
Preparation matters.
Of course, history is only a reference.
Overanalyzing it is like carving a boat to find a fallen sword.
Markets demand flexible thinking, not rigid beliefs.
Meanwhile, gold keeps shining.
Gold’s market cap has now surpassed $31.4 trillion.
There was a time when gold was only 12x larger than Bitcoin.
Today, that gap has widened to 18x.
Bitcoin’s market cap has slipped to around $1.7 trillion, dropping it to 8th place globally — even below silver’s $4 trillion valuation.
Annual rankings fluctuate.
Narratives change.
And whether Bitcoin truly becomes “digital gold” is still an open question.
What’s certain is this:
We’re playing an infinite game.
There’s no final level — only experience, mistakes, growth, and reflection.
Recognize what improved your life.
Admit what was a suboptimal investment.
Learn. Adjust. Evolve.
Next year is another chapter.
Let’s write it better.
