S&P 500 Hits Record High in USD, But Falls Sharply Against Bitcoin

     

Bitcoin Outperforms U.S. Equities, With S&P 500 Down 15% in BTC Terms for 2025

The S&P 500 Index has reached a new all-time high in dollar terms, closing at 6,280.46 on Thursday and extending its year-to-date gain to 7%. However, when measured in Bitcoin, the benchmark U.S. stock index is down 15% in 2025 — highlighting Bitcoin’s dominant performance in the current macro environment.

According to The Kobeissi Letter, citing data from Bitbo, the S&P 500 has declined a staggering 99.98% against Bitcoin since 2012. Despite its recent rally, traditional equities remain far behind digital assets in terms of long-term returns.

Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high above $118,800 on Friday, with the cryptocurrency gaining 5.5% over the past 24 hours, 9% over the last week, and 24% year-to-date, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.

Bitcoin’s decade-long performance has also outpaced major tech stocks like Nvidia, Tesla, and Netflix. Analyst Charlie Bilello emphasized BTC’s remarkable rise as the best-performing asset class over the past ten years.

Institutional Capital Shifts From Stocks to Bitcoin ETFs

Bitcoin’s 2025 rally has been driven largely by institutional inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have rapidly become one of the fastest-growing asset classes in global markets.

As of Friday, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs held a combined 1,264,976 BTC worth over $148 billion — accounting for more than 6% of Bitcoin’s total supply.

According to State Street data, digital asset ETFs are now the third-largest category by inflows this year, trailing only short-term government debt and gold.

On Thursday, Bitcoin ETFs recorded their second-highest single-day inflow ever, bringing in $1.17 billion, further confirming institutional appetite for BTC over traditional equities.