While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been making waves for the last few years for their high returns (as well as volatility), a quieter player has emerged from the shadows of the computer hardware world to match Bitcoin. Nvidia however is already familiar to the crypto world for providing mining hardware. This time, its huge potential for the AI industry made it, for some time recently, the most valuable company in the world.

Let’s take a look at the yearly returns of both Bitcoin and Nvidia and find out the leader.

NVIDIA: A Semiconductor Powerhouse 

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a prominent American technology company which is widely known in the technological industry for its state-of-the-art Graphics Processing Units (GPU) and for making big advancements in the world of AI 

Key Features of NVIDIA’s Performance  

1. Consistent Growth – Over the past 5 years, the NVIDIA stocks have seen a solid and consistent growth pattern, which is due to the strong financial performance by the company. 

2. Innovation – Owing to the fact that the company has made big advancements in the world of AI and Gaming, the company has set a strong position in the market. This has led the company to gain the investors’ confidence. 

Bitcoin: The Cryptocurrency Pioneer 

Bitcoin (BTC), created in 2009, is the world’s most valuable and well-known cryptocurrency. It is the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency has attracted many investors ranging from those who were seeking to diversify away from traditional assets as well as investors seeking high returns. 

Key Features of Bitcoin’s Performance 

1. Volatility – Ever since it was created, Bitcoin is widely known for its volatility. Its prices go up and down wildly over short periods of time. This draws in investors who are looking to make quick profits but it also exposes them to high risk. 

2. Adoption – Bitcoin has been integrated into the mainstream financial systems. It has also been widely adopted by institutional investors. This has widely contributed to its growth.  

To provide a direct comparison of the returns from NVIDIA stock with the returns from investing in Bitcoin, historical data of Bitcoin and NVIDIA is collected from July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2024. The returns of the asset were calculated on the basis of the daily closing prices, and cumulative return was calculated to take a look at the overall performance of the assets. 

NVIDIA (NVDA) Stock Returns (July 2019 – July 2024) 

Annual Returns: 

• 2019-2020: +62.2%  

• 2020-2021: +122.3%  

• 2021-2022: +53.8%  

• 2022-2023: +45.7%  

• 2023-2024: +33.1% 

Cumulative Returns: 

• July 2019 – July 2024: +516.4% 

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) Returns (July 2019 – July 2024) 

Annual Returns: 

• 2019-2020: +46.7%  

• 2020-2021: +303.0%  

• 2021-2022: +51.1%  

• 2022-2023: -64.8%  

• 2023-2024: +97.2% 

Cumulative Returns: 

• July 2019 – July 2024: +637.8% 

Analyzing the data  

• NVIDIA- NVIDIA has shown a positive growth consistently over the past 5 years. However, In the year of particular year of 2020-21, the stock showed strong growth of 122.3%. Looking at the cumulative returns, the company showed an overall return of 516.4% which proved to give a significant return for long term investors. 

• Bitcoin- Bitcoin’s annual returns have showed that the cryptocurrency is highly volatile, with a significant increase of 303% in 2020-2021, while also having a drop of 64.8% in 2022-2023. However, the cumulative return is 637.4%. Even after being so volatile, Bitcoin still proved to give a massive return on investment to long term investors. 

It can be clearly observed that Bitcoin is significantly more volatile than NVIDIA stocks. The cryptocurrency has experienced higher highs as well as lower lows as compared to the NVIDIA stocks.

However, despite all the volatility, it can be observed that Bitcoin still proved to be more profitable for long term investors. NVIDIA’s stock is generally preferred by those investors who want more stable and consistent growth. Bitcoin, with its higher volatility and potential for large returns, caters to those willing to accept higher risk.