Investing $10,000: Bitcoin beats US stocks and gold again! This chart reveals a crucial investment truth: What truly determines how much you can earn isn’t just the return rate—it’s whether you can handle the volatility along the way. Let’s say on January 4, 2021, you invested $10,000 into different assets and held them until October 12, 2026. Final asset values: Bitcoin (BTC): $25,529 (+155%) S&P 500 ETF: $22,779 (+128%) Gold ETF: $20,959 (+110%) Cash: $10,000 (0%) Bitcoin takes the top spot again! But what’s really worth noting is another number… -77%! That’s the maximum drawdown Bitcoin experienced during this investment period. In comparison: S&P 500’s max drawdown: ~-24% Gold’s max drawdown: ~-26% If you want Bitcoin’s highest long-term returns, you must first endure its wild price swings. Imagine this: Your $100,000 investment drops to just $23,000 at one point. A paper loss of $77,000! Could you really avoid panicking, resist selling at a loss, and even have the courage to buy more? This is why I always emphasize: The most important thing in investing isn’t finding the asset with the highest return—it’s finding a strategy you can truly stick with for the long term. If you can’t handle a 70% drawdown, then even if Bitcoin goes up 10x in the future, it might mean nothing to you. Why? Because you’d likely have been shaken out of the market long before that. Of course, this is just a historical comparison for specific dates and doesn’t guarantee Bitcoin will continue to lead in the future. Cash assumes no interest and doesn’t account for inflation, taxes, or transaction costs. But the most thought-provoking takeaway from this chart isn’t how much BTC outperformed. It’s this: Returns determine how fast your wealth grows, but risk management determines whether you’ll live to enjoy those returns. Are you willing to endure a 77% max drawdown in exchange for potentially higher long-term returns? Manage your positions responsibly.