Does BTC still have investment value after institutionalization? The true situation of the three major cryptocurrencies based on their yields

In recent years, many investors have begun to reevaluate the investment prospects of BTC. Looking back at the two complete cycles from 2020 to 2024, BTC’s growth momentum seems to be gradually waning. What exactly is happening behind the scenes?

The Glamorous Turn and Dilemma of Digital Gold

BTC was widely accepted as “digital gold”—an asset representing everlasting value and strong risk resistance. However, this identity has become a double-edged sword. As large institutions continue to enter the market and ETF products are launched successively, BTC’s liquidity has been significantly locked up. Mining difficulty for miners keeps rising, and most of the mined BTC is held long-term rather than entering the market. The supply side is frozen, while demand is continuously dispersing, directly leading to a narrowing of BTC price volatility.

A deeper issue is that: BTC is gradually evolving from an application tool into a store of value. While this shift enhances its risk resistance, it also limits its growth potential. Without extreme downturns, there are fewer entry opportunities, which is a heavy blow to ordinary investors.

Rising Costs and Quiet Decline in Returns

Data shows that BTC’s annualized return is in a downward trend. It used to sustain at 20-30%, but now it is gradually approaching 15-20%. This still sounds good—after all, Warren Buffett can only maintain an average annual return of about 19%. But the key issue lies in the scale of initial investment.

Institutions investing 100 million yuan with an annualized 20% return can earn up to 20 million yuan, making the absolute gains considerable. However, ordinary investors who invest only 1000U (some even less) with a 20% annualized return will only get about 200U in returns. As the investment costs keep rising and the returns shrink, BTC’s attractiveness to small investors clearly diminishes.

Comparing the Profitability of the Three Mainstream Coins

Expanding the view to the entire ecosystem, it’s easy to see that different coins have markedly different profit potentials. From annual performance, BNB ranks first due to its diverse ecosystem applications and platform mechanisms. ETH, known as “digital oil,” continues to release growth momentum through DeFi and NFT ecosystems, ranking second in annual returns. Although BTC holds a revered position, its purely store-of-value attribute makes its profit potential the most limited.

From another perspective, BTC has become a purely “holding value” asset. Compared to that, ETH can still generate excess returns through ecosystem innovation, and BNB continuously creates income for holders through staking and platform mechanisms.

Is BTC Still the Original BTC?

When we ask this question, the answer may already be quite clear. Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned BTC as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, but today it has evolved into part of institutional asset allocation. This transformation is an inevitable development of the market but also indicates that the space for retail investors to participate is being continuously squeezed.

As the institutionalization process deepens, entry costs will continue to rise, and growth potential will keep shrinking. For individual investors hoping to achieve substantial returns through investment, it may be necessary to reconsider their asset allocation strategies and seek out investment assets with still-growing potential.