While the S&P 500 index continues to post record highs in dollar terms, its value compared to Bitcoin has plummeted by over 88% since 2020, according to Phil Rosen, co-founder of Opening Bell Daily.
Crypto investor Anthony Pompliano echoed Rosen’s view, stating that Bitcoin has become the “benchmark for performance” in today’s market.
“Everyone brags about the S&P 500 doubling since 2020, but when measured in Bitcoin — a sound, scarce asset — the index has actually dropped by 88%,” Pompliano wrote.
According to him, Bitcoin is now the ultimate measure of real value creation:
“If you can’t outperform Bitcoin, you’ll eventually have to own it.”
However, not everyone agrees. An entrepreneur posting under the pseudonym WellspringGP argued that the comparison is misleading — noting that the S&P 500 added over $25 trillion in market capitalization during the same period, nearly 20 times the total value of Bitcoin. He questioned which asset is truly productive.
Pompliano countered that stocks cannot be called productive if they lose ground to superior stores of value like Bitcoin or gold.
WellspringGP replied that the S&P 500 represents companies generating tangible goods and services, while Bitcoin “only consumes energy.”
The debate highlights a growing divide between traditional market advocates and Bitcoin maximalists, as Bitcoin recently broke past the $125,000 mark on October 5, 2025, setting a new all-time high.
