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Dominic Basulto, The Motley Fool
Mon, Apr 7, 2025, 4:00 AM 5 min read
Amid each the uncertainty and volatility surrounding planetary tariffs, it's understandable wherefore galore investors whitethorn beryllium readying to steer wide of crypto close now. After all, cryptocurrencies -- conscionable similar stocks -- are down crossed the board, with immoderate of them down arsenic overmuch arsenic 50% for the year.
But there's 1 cryptocurrency you mightiness privation to deliberation astir buying present and holding forever, and that's Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Here's why.
Perhaps the biggest origin successful Bitcoin's favour is its singular resilience. During the past 15 years, it has undergone respective boom-and-bust cycles, and it is celebrated for its volatility. But here's the happening -- aft each large decline, Bitcoin has bounced back, reaching caller highs.
So, adjacent if you deliberation that Bitcoin is headed for a stinker of a twelvemonth successful 2025, it's worthy looking backmost astatine erstwhile marketplace cycles, to spot conscionable however rapidly Bitcoin yet rebounded. The 3 cardinal years to see are 2014 (when Bitcoin fell by 57%), 2018 (when Bitcoin plummeted by 74%), and 2022 (when Bitcoin sank by 64%).
After each 1 of those epic collapses, Bitcoin went connected to deed different grounds high. Take, for example, the past Bitcoin marketplace cycle. Bitcoin reached a precocious of $69,000 successful November 2021 earlier yet sinking beneath $16,000 successful November 2022. But Bitcoin took disconnected from there, posting triple-digit percent returns successful some 2023 and 2024, earlier hitting a brand-new all-time precocious of $109,000 successful January.
Historical show is nary warrant of aboriginal results. But the humanities grounds suggests that Bitcoin has the quality to bounce backmost from immoderate large retreat. So if tariff uncertainty has you connected tenterhooks, this mightiness supply immoderate bid of mind.
In 2024, WisdomTree (NYSE: WT) published a broad study analyzing Bitcoin's show comparative to 8 plus classes. It looked astatine the play betwixt 2012 and 2023, to spot however Bitcoin stacked up against equities, bonds, commodities, and gold.
What it recovered was astounding: In 9 of those 12 years, Bitcoin was easy the top-performing plus successful the world, and it wasn't adjacent close. But successful the different 3 years (2014, 2018, and 2022), Bitcoin was the worst-performing plus successful the world, and it wasn't adjacent close.
If Bitcoin were a contention car driver, it would beryllium Ricky Bobby, the quality played by Will Ferrell successful the drama Talladega Nights. His motto was, "If you ain't first, you're last." It summarized his reckless, do-anything-to-win mentality. Sometimes, it leads to winning the race; different times, it leads to spinning out, wrecking, and not being capable to decorativeness the race.