With its U.S. dollar value having risen by nearly 160% since the start of the year, bitcoin is set to end 2023 as one of the best-performing assets. Only semiconductor giant Nvidia’s stock has outperformed the top crypto asset in 2023 so far. Key moments such as Blackrock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) announcement and a fake post on the social media platform X all combined to spark the crypto asset’s remarkable run.

Nvidia’s Stock the Number One Performing Asset in 2023

Bitcoin, which started the year trading at just under $17,000, recently surpassed the $44,000 mark and is now set to end 2023 as one of the best-performing assets. As of Nov. 30, bitcoin has gained 160% overall. Only the stock of the semiconductor giant Nvidia has outperformed bitcoin (BTC) with a gain of more than 240% on Dec. 24.

According to an analysis conducted by the consulting firm Kaiko Research, BTC seemingly stalled between March and October. Also, its volumes during that period did not hint at an impending run that would see it trade above $44,000 for the first time in almost two years.

The Blackrock Factor

However, in the last quarter of the year, key moments such as Blackrock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) announcement and a fake news post all conspired to spark the crypto asset’s remarkable run.

“Then [in the Q4], optimism about a spot BTC ETF began to grow after Blackrock filed, and then a mistaken tweet from a crypto publication stating that the ETF had been approved seemed to break the floodgates open,” the Kaiko Research said.

According to the consulting firm’s analysis, the top crypto asset has one of the best Sharpe Ratios of any major asset this year. The consulting firm also noted that Nvidia, whose stock more than doubled between January and May, had the best Sharpe Ratio in 2023.

Meanwhile, the stock of Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy, which was up by more than 300% at the time of writing (8 am EST on Dec. 24), is listed as the third-best performing asset in 2023. The top U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase’s stock COIN is the fifth-best performing asset, while the second-biggest crypto asset ETH is ranked seventh.

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