Bitcoin vs Microsoft since 2020
January 2020 is the cleanest starting point for the post-COVID era. Microsoft's cloud and AI businesses re-rated the entire mega-cap complex; Bitcoin re-rated everything else.
| METRIC | BITCOIN | MICROSOFT (MSFT) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | 715.5% | 131.8% |
| Multiple | 8.15x | 2.32x |
| CAGR | 38.7% | 14.0% |
| Max drawdown | -75.3% | -30.5% |
| Annualized volatility | 66.0% | 24.1% |
| Sharpe ratio(rf 4%) | 0.44 | 0.38 |
Microsoft has compounded at a strong double-digit rate through cloud monetization and the OpenAI partnership, with relatively contained drawdowns by tech standards.
Bitcoin's same-window return is larger in absolute terms, but the path involved a 77% drawdown in 2022 that Microsoft did not come close to matching. Risk-adjusted, the two are closer than the headline number suggests.
What this leaves out
Monthly closes only. Bitcoin is sampled from a weekly close series, the comparison asset uses Tiingo end-of-month adjusted closes. Prices are price-only with no dividends, no fees, no spreads, no taxes, no storage costs. Sharpe assumes a 4% annual risk-free rate. A different start or end month can flip the ranking, so treat these stats as one window, not a forecast.
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Bitcoin price source: internal monthly close series. Comparison asset: Tiingo daily EOD adjusted close, sampled at month end.