Bitcoin turned a $10,000 investment into approximately $869,677 over the decade from 2016 to 2026, representing an 8,597% total return and an annualized compounding rate of about 56.3%. During the same period, only 13% of actively managed US large-cap equity funds outperformed their passive benchmarks, according to Morningstar data reported by the Wall Street Journal. An equivalent investment in the SPY index fund would have grown to only about $41,704, creating a wealth gap of approximately $828,000. The headline return obscures two severe drawdowns: an 83% decline from the 2017 peak and a 77% decline from the 2021 peak, which holders had to endure fully to capture the final outcome. As of June 2026, indexed funds held nearly $21.9 trillion compared to $18.8 trillion in active funds, reflecting how investors have already shifted toward passive strategies despite Bitcoin’s outsized performance.
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