Bitcoin has been taking a beating lately. Down 43% over the last month, it’s in the midst of its steepest correction since 2018. That year, Bitcoin tumbled a full 80%, tumbling all the way down to $3,000. Since then, Bitcoin has mostly been on the rise, but the current selloff threatens to take it back to late-2017 prices.
This naturally leads to the question, “is there a safer place for investors to put their money while still getting superior returns?” Certainly, Bitcoin has delivered solid returns historically, but with all this volatility, it has made for a jittery ride. In light of this, it’s natural to wonder whether there’s somewhere investors can put their money as an alternative.
In fact, there is: tech stocks. Like Bitcoin, tech stocks have outperformed the broader stock market by a wide margin over the last decade. Up 400%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ has easily beaten the S&P 500. By picking individual tech stocks, some investors have gotten far better returns than that — in some cases, returns that rival even Bitcoin. In this article, I’ll outline some points to keep in mind when choosing between investing in Bitcoin and investing in tech stocks.
The case for Bitcoin Historically, the case for investing in Bitcoin over tech stocks was that it offered better returns. The NASDAQ may be up 400% over 10 years, but Bitcoin is up thousands of percentage points over the same timeframe. If you go all the way back to when Bitcoin was invented in 2009, it has outperformed pretty much every stock on earth. That’s something investors think about a lot when they consider investing in Bitcoin. But remember: past results don’t indicate future results. Every trend ends sooner or later. And with Bitcoin now having a $600 million market cap, its future returns are unlikely to be as good as past returns.
The case for tech stocks The case for investing in tech stocks over Bitcoin is less straightforward. Unlike the case for Bitcoin, there are actually several arguments to be made here rather than just one. I’ll start by listing a few of the most important ones, then move on to some concluding thoughts.
The post Bitcoin vs. Tech Stocks: Which Should You Buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Fool contributor Andrew Button has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2023 $1,140 calls on Shopify and short January 2023 $1,160 calls on Shopify.
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