Warren Buffett Sticks to the S&P 500, But BTC Outperforms by 88%

The S&P 500 is close to a of 6,715, up nahead 14% this year and over 106% since 2020 in USD terms. This shows that U.S. large caps are doing well across the board. 

BTC, on the other hand, reached a new all-time high of more than 125,000 over the weekend and is up around 32% this year, continuing to outperform established benchmarks for several years. Recent studies show that the S&P 500 has “collapsed” in BTC terms since 2020, meaning it has performed about 88% worse when measured in BTC rather than dollars.

Why It’s Hard To Compare

The is a group of 500 top U.S. firms designed to be less risky and provide steady, inflation-beating returns over time, typically around 6–7% per year. This is what makes it a key part of traditional . BTC is a singular asset with a unique story based on scarcity and decentralization. 

It has a smaller and higher volatility than the index, so direct comparisons are overly simplistic, even though it has performed better recently. Still, BTC’s rise to a market value of about $2 trillion shows that more institutions are becoming involved and that demand is reaching new highs due to macroeconomic factors.

Buffett’s 90/10 View

has long advised most investors to allocate 90% of their money to a low-cost S&P 500 index fund and 10% to short-term U.S. Treasuries. He says that simplicity, low costs, and long-term compounding are more significant than picking stocks or timing cycles. 

That advice has remained consistent across various market conditions. It is often used as a begining point for typical investors who may not be able to handle the volatility associated with investing a significant amount in . The 90/10 framework illustrates the trade-off between maximizing the benefits of BTC’s recent success and maintaining a risk-adjusted, diversified exposure that aligns with long-term goals.

Setting The Stage For The 2020–2025 Result

For example, if you put $100 into the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2020, it would be worth around $210 by the middle of 2025. If you had invested the identical amount in BTC, it would be worth approximately $1,474, illustrating the significant performance discrepancy that occurred during this period. 

However, with both assets setting records simultaneously, the S&P 500 at roughly 6,715 and above 125,000, the main point is not to give up on core indexing, but to recognise BTC’s cyclical, high-beta character as a possible satellite allocation for those who can handle the risk.