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Bitcoin and Strategy Lead Risk-Adjusted Returns as Volatility Falls
BTC and MSTR post Sharpe ratios above 2.0, far outpacing tech peers around 1.0, while implied volatility drops to new lows.
Updated Aug 15, 2025, 2:13 p.m. Published Aug 15, 2025, 10:24 a.m.
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What to know:
- Bitcoin implied volatility is near a 2-year low at 37%, while MSTR volatility is down from highs of 140% to 56%.
- BTC Sharpe ratio is at 2.15 and MSTR at 2.00, both well ahead of large-cap tech names clustered near 1.0.
Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this article owns shares in Strategy.
Bitcoin’s risk-adjusted performance continues to stand out, with a Sharpe ratio of 2.15, the highest among major assets. This means that, relative to its volatility, bitcoin has delivered exceptional returns over the historical period.
Strategy (MSTR), which maintains significant bitcoin exposure through corporate holdings, follows closely with a Sharpe ratio of 2.00, reflecting similarly strong performance.
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A Sharpe ratio of 2 means an asset has delivered twice the excess return over the risk-free rate for every unit of volatility taken, which is considered excellent in risk-adjusted performance terms.
For context, several large-cap tech names are clustered around a Sharpe ratio of 1.0.
The data is current as of Aug. 14, for securities and Aug. 15, for bitcoin, according to the Strategy dashboard.
A key driver of late for both has been volatility compression. Bitcoin’s implied volatility has fallen to 37%, near a two-year low, suggesting market participants expect more stable price action in the short term.
While, Vetle Lunde, an analyst at K33 Research, says “low volatility is maturity” and notes that over the past six months, 30% of the 100 largest S&P 500 companies have been more volatile than Bitcoin, which shows the cryptocurrency is becoming more of a mature asset class.
By contrast, MSTR’s implied volatility is higher at 56%, as it's a leveraged bitcoin proxy, but this figure is well below the extremes seen in the past year, with 140% in December 2024 and over 120% in April 2025, according to the Strategy dashboard.
From a valuation perspective, MSTR’s multiple to net asset value (mNAV) sits at 1.61 following its recent Q2 earnings call. The company has stated it will not conduct an at-the-market offering of its common stock until its mNAV rises above 2.5, except for paying dividends on its perpetual preferred stock and to pay interest on its debt obligations.
Year-to-date bitcoin is up 27%, while MSTR is up 24%.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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