Bitcoin (BTC) Outpaces Wall Street’s Biggest Stocks, But There’s A Catch

While Bitcoin (BTC) stuck to a tight trading level this year, the token fared much better than several major technology stocks. Year-to-date losses in technology giants such as Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta were far more than those seen by BTC.

BTC has largely tracked major U.S. technology stocks in 2022. But a divergence in their YTD performance may indicate that a decoupling may be possible eventually. The token has also performed better than the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index.

Bitcoin’s 2022 performance outpaces tech giants

The world’s largest cryptocurrency is currently trading down about 12% YTD. By comparison, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are down between 13% to 17%. The Nasdaq composite index is also down around 16%.

Of the five biggest stocks on Wall Street, only Apple has managed to perform better than BTC. The iPhone maker is trading down about 9% for the year. Electric carmaker Tesla, which holds BTC on its balance sheet, has lost nearly 16% YTD.

Facebook owner Meta Platforms tumbled 44% this year on concerns over a dwindling userbase.

While the broader sentiment behind BTC and stock losses is the same- concerns over rising inflation and a hawkish Federal Reserve- the token appears to have proven more resilient to volatility.

But this resilience extends only as far as tech stocks. Hedge fund Berkshire Hathaway, currently the biggest non-technology stock on the S&P 500, has vastly outpaced BTC this year with a 13.5% jump.

Non-technology sectors tend to perform better during high inflation and tighter monetary policy. Insurer UnitedHealth Group and pharmaceuticals giant Johnson and Johnson are both up 7%.

It’s still no digital gold

BTC’s clear sensitivity to inflation and market jitters still disqualifies the currency as a safe haven. While it has outperformed major tech stocks in relative terms, it is far from the best performing asset this year.

Safe haven demand pushed gold prices to their highest level in recorded data this year. The yellow metal is also trading about 7% higher YTD.

In the crypto space, several major altcoins have also outpaced BTC for the year. Terra (LUNA) is up 13%, while NEAR is up 6%.