Nvidia (NVDA 4.45%) stocks and bitcoin (BTC 1.49%) are completely different assets, but they have one thing in common. That means being top class in their respective markets.
Nvidia has a market capitalization of $3.5 trillion, making it the world’s largest semiconductor company by a mile. The company is a leading supplier of data center chips used to process artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and is currently experiencing rapid sales growth.
Bitcoin has a market capitalization of approximately $2 trillion, making it the world’s largest cryptocurrency by a wide margin.
Nvidia stock soared 171% in 2024, while Bitcoin rose 120%. Both ended the year close to record highs. But now that 2025 has arrived, it’s time for investors to look to the future. So which one should you buy this year?
Image source: Getty Images.
For Nvidia
Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing unit (GPU) became the world’s most popular data center chip for AI development in 2023, helping the company capture 98% of the total market. It then launched the more powerful H200 GPU during 2024, and also began shipping an entirely new generation of chips built on the Blackwell architecture towards the end of the year.
Blackwell-based GB200 NVL72 GPU systems can perform AI inference (making predictions using live data) 30 times faster than comparable H100 systems. The GB200 GPU retails for approximately $83,000, twice as much as the H100, but the 30x performance increase actually translates into significant cost savings for developers.
Simply put, Blackwell GPUs make the most advanced AI models affordable to a wider range of businesses and developers. So it’s no surprise that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called demand “tremendous.” The company shipped samples of 13,000 GB200 GPUs during the recent fiscal third quarter of 2025 (ending Oct. 28), but one estimate by Morgan Stanley suggests that the first three months of the 2025 calendar year It has been suggested that 800,000 GPUs could be shipped alone.
In a separate forecast, Morgan Stanley said four tech companies — Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Metaplatforms — could spend a combined $300 billion on AI infrastructure and chips by 2025. Money is likely to flow to Nvidia.
Fiscal 2025 ends at the end of this month, and the company is on track to achieve a record $128.6 billion in total revenue, driven by GPU sales. This corresponds to a growth of 111% compared to FY2023. According to average Wall Street forecasts (provided by Yahoo!), the company’s sales will approach $200 billion in fiscal year 2026 (most of the 2025 calendar year).
No matter how you look at it, the next 12 months are going to be a huge time for Nvidia. But would you believe me if I told you that the stock still looks cheap?More on that later.
In the case of Bitcoin
Bitcoin recently passed the historic price milestone of $100,000, and as mentioned earlier, it now has a market capitalization of almost $2 trillion. The next most valuable cryptocurrency is Ethereum, with a market capitalization of just $422 billion, which clearly shows Bitcoin’s dominance.
Why is it so popular? The truth is, very few virtual currencies can actually be used in the real world. These are primarily speculative assets that move up and down depending on the whims of investors.
But what makes Bitcoin unique is that it is truly decentralized, meaning it is not controlled by any one company or individual. There is also a fixed supply of 21 million coins, which adds an element of scarcity, especially since the total amount will not be fully mined until around 2140.
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved dozens of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Although it became the first cryptocurrency to receive the blessing of U.S. regulators, other crypto heavyweights remained under intense scrutiny, and its decentralized nature had a lot to do with it.
ETFs allow financial advisors and institutions to own Bitcoin in a safe and regulated way. This is great because many investors and analysts are embracing cryptocurrencies as a store of value, similar to a digital version of gold.
The total value of all gold reserves is currently $17.9 trillion, so to catch up with that, Bitcoin’s market cap would have to jump about 840%, which would translate to a price of $904,000 per coin. means.
That could be a good long-term goal for investors. In the short term, Fundstrat Global Advisors analyst Tom Lee predicts that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 in 2025.
This year could benefit from further interest rate cuts, with investors trending toward growth assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, a new administration will be inaugurated this month, with several crypto supporters expected to emerge, including the president himself. This may increase demand for virtual currencies in general.
judgment
There is a very important difference between a company like Nvidia and a speculative asset like Bitcoin. Since companies generate revenue and profits, calculating their value is easy.
Nvidia has generated $2.62 in earnings per share (EPS) over the past four quarters, with a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of over 56. This is a slight discount to the average P/E ratio of approximately 59. Considering the changes in the stock price over the past 10 years, the current stock price appears to be rather cheap.
Additionally, the company could generate earnings of $4.43 per share during fiscal 2026 (starting in February), according to Wall Street consensus estimates (provided by Yahoo!). This gives the company’s stock a forward P/E of approximately 32, as shown by the orange line in the chart below.
NVDA PE ratio data by YCharts.
In other words, NVIDIA stock would need to rise 89% over the next 12 months for it to trade in line with its 10-year average P/E ratio of approximately 59x.
Despite Bitcoin being the world’s largest cryptocurrency, there is no concrete reason for it to rise this year. I’m not saying it won’t happen, I’m just pointing out that it’s impossible to predict price movements in speculative assets. There is even no reliable way to calculate how much value Bitcoin could gain from tailwinds such as favorable regulation under a new administration.
So I think Nvidia stock is a good buy in 2025. Aside from its attractive valuation, AI has the potential to be the most powerful technological revolution in a generation, and it wouldn’t have happened without Nvidia.
John Mackey, former CEO of Amazon subsidiary Whole Foods Market, is a member of the Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg is a former head of market development and spokesperson at Facebook, sister of Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and a member of the Motley Fool’s board of directors. Alphabet executive Suzanne Frye is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Anthony Di Pigio has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: A long January 2026 $395 call on Microsoft and a short January 2026 $405 call on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
