After ending its fourth negative year since 2010, still the least painful with a 5.6% decline, Bitcoin recovered to trade above $90,000 in the first week of January.
Daily spot trading volumes stood between $40 billion and $53 billion during this week, typical of a market moving sideways early in the year. However, even with this moderate level of trading activity, Bitcoin still outperformed one of the most actively traded and closely watched tech stocks, NVIDIA.
According to analysis by the Techgaged research team, Bitcoin’s average daily trading volume in the first week of 2026 was about $37.8 billion, while NVIDIA’s averaged $26.8 billion. That means the cryptocurrency outpaced the AI giant by roughly 41% over the past seven days.
Ever since the AI boom began, NVIDIA has regularly ranked among the most actively traded US stocks, with tens of billions of dollars changing hands in a busy session, putting it in the same liquidity category as Apple and Microsoft.
Yet, when it comes to average daily trading volume, NVIDIA still trails Bitcoin by a wide margin.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency that was introduced in 2008, when an individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a whitepaper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. The paper outlined a method for transferring value over the Internet without relying on financial intermediaries such as banks or payment processors.
The Bitcoin network launched in January 2009, with the creation of the genesis block. The system is built on Blockchain technology, a distributed ledger that records transactions across a network of computers. Consensus is achieved through a mechanism known as proof of work, in which participants, referred to as miners, validate transactions and secure the network.
Up until a few years ago, many still dismissed Bitcoin as a speculative gamble. However, it has grown steadily into one of the most heavily traded assets in the world.
Bitcoin in 2026
Today, Bitcoin occupies a central position within the digital asset market. It is widely regarded as the first successful implementation of Blockchain technology and serves as a reference point for the valuation and development of other cryptocurrencies.
While Bitcoin and NVIDIA seem almost incomparable at first glance, a closer look at their investor activity offers a striking insight into Bitcoin’s growing dominance.
The Techgaged research team analysed whether more money changed hands in Bitcoin or in NVIDIA stock during the first week of 2026, and by how much per day. NVIDIA’s figure was calculated by multiplying its seven-day average share turnover on active trading days, at roughly 142.8 million shares per day, by the period’s average price of approximately $187.9.
Bitcoin’s total came from aggregated data across major exchanges, showing about $265 billion in trading volume in the first week of the year, translating into a daily average of $37.8 billion. While the exact totals are estimates, Bitcoin still surpassed the AI giant by a whopping 41% in daily liquidity. The difference becomes even more striking when expressed in dollar terms: over the past week, Bitcoin recorded roughly $11 billion in average daily trading volume, compared with one of the most actively traded stocks.
“Bitcoin’s ability to outperform NVIDIA in average daily trading volume – even after closing a rare negative year – highlights how deeply embedded [Bitcoin] has become in global capital markets. What was once viewed as a speculative outlier is now competing head-to-head with the world’s most liquid tech equities,” said Techgaged.com Research Analyst Jastra Kranjec.
The Techgaged comparison also revealed another interesting insight. Despite ending one of only four negative years since 2010, which would normally point to weaker interest and lower trading activity, Bitcoin’s trading volume still increased in the first days of 2026. In the first week of 2025, Bitcoin averaged just over $37 billion in daily trading volume, or 2% lower than in the same period this year. In other words, traders stayed engaged even after a rare losing year.
On the other hand, NVIDIA’s seven-day average trading volume dropped by 12% in the same period, falling from $30.8 billion to $26.8 billion.
Overall, Bitcoin will remain a significant digital asset throughout 2026 due to its longevity, market capitalisation, and role in shaping both financial innovation and the broader adoption of blockchain-based systems.
