Bitcoin beats world's top 5 banks by $350 billion

Bitcoin's market capitalization has reached roughly $2.4 trillion, a value that exceeds the total market capitalization of the largest five banks in the world.

As of October 3, Bitcoin is trading above $120,700 and remains the largest digital asset by market capitalization, with a volume of $71.1 billion.

Big banks left in the dust

Over the past five years, Bitcoin has seen a price appreciation of more than 1,000%. By comparison, the largest banks in the world have generated far lesser returns.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the most valuable bank today, has a market capitalization of $845.7 billion and a five-year gain of 214%, as per Yahoo Finance.

At the same time, Wells Fargo (WFC) is valued at approximately $260 billion, representing a 235% increase, and Bank of America (BAC) is worth around $373.9 billion.Wells Fargo headquarters and museum located at 420 Montgomery street in San Francisco, CA.Getty Images

Two Chinese lenders, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), worth about $340 billion, and Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), worth roughly $231 billion.

Combined, the five banks have a little more than $2.05 trillion in market capitalization, which is about 17.1% smaller than Bitcoin's overall market capitalization  — a gap of roughly $350 billion in Bitcoin’s favor.

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The stock prices of the five largest banks have shown a gradual appreciation compared to Bitcoin.

New asset class

Institutional research sees crypto as a new type of asset class that is different from stocks and bonds, as per Fidelity. Investors use small sleeves to spread their risk and potential gains, knowing that the market is quite volatile and risky.

The interest in Bitcoin is driven by rising institutional demand, the advent of exchange-traded products, and its use in broader discussions about digital assets as a new store of value.

Related: Why BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF proves 'ETFs are no joke'

As of today, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have made it easy for brokers to hold BTC. BlackRock's IBIT has $93.5 billion in assets, and Bitcoin ETFs have experienced net inflows of billions of dollars every week lately, indicating a tremendous demand for regulated wrappers.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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