What If You Invested $1,000 in Bitcoin 5 Years Ago? Gold and US Stocks Both Did Better

Bitcoin spent the last five years soaring to dizzying highs and cratering to gut-wrenching lows, yet two far less exciting assets quietly left it in the dust. The reason why reveals something surprising about timing, risk, and what growth actually…

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If you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) five years ago, on October 8, 2021, it would now be worth about $1,563—a 56% increase. In comparison, the same $1,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: SPY) would have grown to about $1,776, while an investment in SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA: GLD) would have increased to around $2,328. This places Bitcoin last among the three options.

So, why did Bitcoin, often hailed as the standout growth asset of the past decade, lag behind both gold and U.S. stocks? Let’s explore what Bitcoin investors experienced to see even that modest return.

On October 8, 2021, Bitcoin traded at about $53,893, up over 80% since the start of that year. Just a month later, it reached an all-time high of nearly $69,000. Anyone who bought Bitcoin during this time essentially purchased near the peak of that market cycle.

Investors who entered the market near the height of Bitcoin’s value began their five-year journey from a high price point, which negatively affects their overall return. For instance, a $1,000 investment made a year earlier, in October 2020, when Bitcoin was priced around $11,000, would now be worth about $7,700. This illustrates how the starting date can greatly influence perceived investment success.

In 2022, the crypto market faced a brutal downturn, especially after the FTX collapse in November, which drove Bitcoin’s value to about $15,500. At that lowest point, a $1,000 investment would have fallen to roughly $290—a staggering 71% loss.

However, Bitcoin did rebound, reaching an impressive $126,080 on October 6, 2025, briefly pushing the investment to about $2,340—more than the gold investment is worth today. Yet, Bitcoin’s value later dipped again to around $57,717 in 2026, bringing that investment back down to roughly $1,070, near its original starting point.

Thus, the $1,563 valuation today belongs only to those who held through a 71% drop and later saw a 134% increase that faded to a mere 7%. Investors who sold during either downturn would have ended up with far less.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 returned about 78%, while gold gained about 133% over the same five years. The S&P 500 fell roughly 25% from its peak in January 2022 to its low in October 2022, while gold dropped around 20% throughout 2022. Neither fell as steeply as Bitcoin, which dropped 71%.

Additionally, gold benefitted from a historic surge, marking its best year in 45 years in 2025 and surpassing $5,000 an ounce in 2026.

Investors generally tolerate larger drops when they anticipate higher returns. Over this period, Bitcoin holders faced the steepest decline and ended up with the smallest gains.

If you had invested $1,000 in Bitcoin five years ago, it would have grown to about $1,563, compared to $1,776 in the S&P 500 fund and $2,328 in gold. Bitcoin holders also endured a significant 71% drop to achieve this return, making it the least rewarding asset given its higher risk during this timeframe.

However, these results are largely influenced by the investment’s starting point. An investor who entered the market in October 2020 would be significantly ahead of both the S&P 500 and gold, showing how Bitcoin’s success can depend heavily on your entry timing and your willingness to hold through challenging market periods.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing

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