If you had a spare US$10,000 at the end of 2025, you might have decided to invest that in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
On 31 December, the world's first and biggest crypto was trading for US$88,430, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Indeed, with the price then down some 30% from the all-time high of US$126,198, notched on 7 October, a lot of crypto investors were eyeing what looked like a potentially opportune dip at the start of this year.
So, how did they fare?
Image source: Bitcoinist
What would your $10,000 Bitcoin investment be worth now?
At the start of 2026, you could have bought 0.113 Bitcoin, excluding any potential brokerage or exchange fees, with your US$10,000 investment.
You could also denote that in satoshis. Named after Satoshi Nakamoto – the still unknown creator, or creators, of BTC – one BTC is equivalent to 100 million satoshis. So your US$10,000 would have netted you 11.31 million satoshis.
Now on Tuesday, 7 April, the BTC price edged lower, changing virtual hands for US$68,755 in late afternoon trade Aussie time. That saw the token commanding a market cap of US$1.37 trillion.
Unfortunately, it also means that the US$10,000 you invested in the world's top crypto at the start of the year is now worth $7,775, or a loss of 22.2%.
How about Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)?
If Bitcoin investors are out more than 22% year to date, how about Ethereum?
Well, on 31 December, the world's number two crypto by market cap was trading for US$2,971. Meaning you could have bought 3.37 Ethereum (again excluding any potential exchange or brokerage fees).
So, how did that crypto investment work out to date?
Well, on Tuesday afternoon, Ethereum was trading for US$2,108. That means your US$10,000 investment at the start of 2026 would now be worth US$7,095. Or a loss of 29.0%.
How does the Bitcoin performance compare to buying ASX shares or gold?
If, instead of buying Bitcoin or Ethereum, you decided to invest US$10,000 in an S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF), you'd still have lost money.
But a lot less.
As of late afternoon on Tuesday, the ASX 200 had slipped 0.24% since market close on 31 December. So your US$10,000 investment would be worth a slightly diminished US$9,976 today.
As for gold, the yellow metal kicked off 2026 trading for US$4,319 an ounce. Despite the sharp decline in March, gold was still commanding US$4,649 in Tuesday afternoon trade.
That sees the gold price up just under 7.9% year to date.
And it means a US$10,000 investment in bullion at the start of the year would be worth US$10,789 today.
