The winning asset mix of scarcity, preservation, and innovation continues to outperform, no matter the macro regime. 

In financial markets, leadership rotates. What dominates one quarter may underperform the next. Yet, in an era marked by inflation spikes, monetary tightening, geopolitical shocks, and tech breakthroughs, one theme has remained stubbornly consistent: Bitcoin, gold, and the NASDAQ 100 have been the top-performing assets for two years running. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a signal. A durable, macro-level trend that transcends the noise of short-term rotations.

A 12-Month Performance Snapshot

According to data compiled by Ecoinometrics (as of June 6, 2025), the 12-month return leaderboard looks like this:

• Bitcoin: ~40% return

• Gold: ~25% return

• NASDAQ 100: ~15% return

• S&P 500, Shanghai Composite, MSCI Emerging Markets, Eurostoxx 50: All delivered modest single-digit to low double-digit returns

• Ethereum, Crude Oil, Copper: Negative returns, with Ethereum falling roughly 20%

This distribution of returns reveals a clear hierarchy: digital scarcity (Bitcoin), hard money (gold), and innovation (NASDAQ 100) have remained at the forefront, while broader equity indices and commodities lag. Notably, Ethereum’s underperformance highlights that Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto space isn’t reflective of the sector as a whole. If anything, Bitcoin is becoming increasingly uncorrelated from altcoins—a sign of maturing investor narratives.

Why These Three Assets?

🟡 Bitcoin: The Digital Apex Asset

Bitcoin has increasingly behaved like a macro asset—reactive not just to crypto market news but also to broader economic regimes. With its capped supply of 21 million coins, it embodies digital scarcity in an age of relentless money printing and fiscal excess. Institutional adoption, ETF flows, and regulatory clarity have helped push Bitcoin beyond speculative asset status and toward becoming a core portfolio allocation.

In periods of both inflationary fear and tech optimism, Bitcoin has stood firm. It benefits from "flight-to-quality" thinking among digital assets and increasingly plays a role as “digital gold”—but with greater upside potential due to its younger market and network effect.

🟡 Gold: The Veteran Hedge

Gold has, for millennia, preserved wealth across empires and economic collapses. In the current macro climate—marked by central bank caution, sticky inflation, and global instability—gold’s appeal has reemerged. What’s remarkable is not just that gold has performed well, but that it has done so alongside Bitcoin.

This contradicts the narrative that gold and Bitcoin must be mutually exclusive safe-havens. In fact, institutional investors now hold both assets as complementary hedges in diversified portfolios. Gold still benefits from its physical tangibility and central bank adoption, while Bitcoin captures the digital-native crowd.

🟡 NASDAQ 100: Innovation Amidst Volatility

Even through rising interest rates and a shifting yield curve, technology stocks have not just survived—they have thrived. The NASDAQ 100’s performance underscores how innovation, especially in AI, semiconductors, cloud computing, and software, continues to command capital allocation.

The resilience of the NASDAQ points to a deeper truth: we are still in the early innings of a digital revolution. Companies delivering scalable, data-driven products remain growth engines, regardless of cyclical headwinds. This growth premium persists, and investors keep rewarding it.

Zooming Out: 12-Month Trends Tell the Real Story

Short-term traders often chase narratives: a Fed speech here, an earnings miss there. But when you zoom out to a 12-month time horizon, as Ecoinometrics does in their data visualization (above), the signal becomes clearer. While weekly or monthly performance can be noisy, the 12-month return profile shows us where institutional capital is consistently flowing.

In each of the past two years, despite vastly different economic narratives—from post-COVID reopening to energy shocks, from rate hikes to AI booms—Bitcoin, gold, and the NASDAQ 100 have remained at or near the top of the performance rankings. That isn’t just statistical noise. It’s structural.

What Does This Mean for Investors?

The recurring dominance of these three assets offers a lesson: ignore the short-term rotation games and focus on structural capital trends. Bitcoin, gold, and tech aren’t just passing fads—they represent the intersection of:

• Scarcity (Bitcoin),

• Preservation (gold), and

• Innovation (NASDAQ 100).

This trio captures a broad spectrum of what matters in the modern macro landscape: from wealth protection to exponential growth. Moreover, they are each relatively uncorrelated, making them valuable in building a diversified portfolio resilient to multiple regimes. They’ve outperformed during inflation fears, during deflationary scares, in times of geopolitical tension, and during speculative mania. That’s rare.

The Big Picture

Market regimes come and go. Narratives change. But capital has a habit of finding the most compelling blend of risk and reward. Over the past 24 months, that blend has consistently pointed to Bitcoin, gold, and tech. The world is being reshaped digitally and geopolitically. Trust in fiat systems is wavering. Investors are looking for assets that are: Durable, Scalable, Scarce. Bitcoin checks all three. Gold has stood the test of time. Tech shapes the future. This persistent trend isn’t just a quirk—it’s a roadmap.

Watch the Flow, Not the Fluctuation

It’s easy to get caught up in the narratives of the moment. But smart capital allocation means watching where money consistently flows, not where it flutters. Bitcoin, gold, and the NASDAQ 100 have outperformed across drastically different macroclimates over the past two years. That’s a powerful signal. Ignore the noise. Trust the trend. The winning trio isn’t going anywhere.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

 Originally Published on Substack.