Reevaluating Investment Strategies: A Comparative Analysis of Bitcoin and Silver
Silver has now outperformed Bitcoin from the beginning of 2021 until present, sparking a debate about the most lucrative investment opportunities in the market. While Bitcoin still exceeds the entire time frame from 2018 to today, the difference depends on the regime, the timing, and the kind of pain one can actually endure. Every cycle has its characteristic profession, and in 2021, it felt obvious that Bitcoin had the history, the momentum, the cultural significance, and the kind of upside that made everything else seem slow.
However, if you bought silver at the start of 2021 and stuck to the latest weekly data point in that data set, you did better than the Bitcoin holder. By our numbers, silver returned about 322% versus Bitcoin’s 130% over the same period, representing about 193 percentage points of additional performance and about 84% more total assets on a comparable starting dollar. This raises questions about why “grandpa metal” beat the hardest money on the internet and why Bitcoin still wins when you zoom out.
Understanding the Dates and Returns
This analysis uses weekly data for Bitcoin, Crude Oil, Gold, Silver, S&P 500 Futures, and the US Dollar Index from May 28, 2018, through January 26, 2026. “Since 2021” begins on January 4, 2021, the first weekly data point after January 1st. Returns are simple start-to-finish percentage changes using the first and last available values in each period.
Bitcoin’s Historical Dominance
Zooming out on the full window, it becomes clear that Bitcoin is the standout performer by a wide margin, and nothing else comes close. The total return from May 28, 2018, to January 26, 2026, shows Bitcoin leading with a return of +1,036.5%, followed by silver at +554.9%, and gold at +292.8%. This table is the reason Bitcoin became the standard benchmark for “best asset of the decade” arguments.
Silver and Gold’s Recent Surge
Now, let’s look at the world after 2020, dominated by inflation headlines, interest rate shocks, and the slow realization that liquidity will not be free forever. The total return from January 4, 2021, to January 26, 2026, shows silver leading with a return of +322.3%, followed by gold at +174.7%, and Bitcoin at +129.5%. This is the split-screen moment where silver and gold are winning the story from 2021 to today because the market cared more about the monetary price and the credibility of the system.
The Complexities of Investment Choices
Silver’s outperformance since the start of 2021 looks clean on a spreadsheet, but living through it rarely feels clean. The entry point is more important than people admit, and a buyer in January 2021 caught a window of opportunity where silver had room to rise, and Bitcoin had already had a historic 2020. Bitcoin still did its job, with a total return of 130% over a period that included a full rate hike cycle, evidence that Bitcoin’s long-term supply has weathered a hostile macroeconomic environment.
Looking Ahead
In markets, there is a human temptation to pick a winner and wear it like an identity. However, the question isn’t which asset is “best,” but rather what environment you’re actually in and whether you can keep the thing you bought if it’s no longer fun. The “2018 to Present” table rewards the asset that underwent the steepest adoption curve and won the “digital scarcity” trade of the decade. The 2021 table to date rewards the assets that have benefited from inflation fears, central bank behavior, and the realization that supply chains and manufactured goods are once again of strategic importance.
For more information, visit https://cryptoslate.com/bitcoin-historically-crushed-silver-but-the-flip-since-2021-has-changed-everything-for-investors/
