Apart from long-term US government bonds, all major assets posted gains in 2024, with bitcoin leading the way for the second year in succession.

The S&P 500 gained 24.9% over the year, while the Nasdaq 100 was up 25.6%. In comparison, performances were 26.2% for the S&P 500 and 54.9% for the Nasdaq 100 in 2023.

Could the strong rise in risky assets continue in 2025?

It's unprecedented: the 10 largest US market capitalisations have accounted for 59% of the S&P500's gains since the October 2022 low. By comparison, the next 10 stocks contributed just 11%, while the remaining 480 stocks contributed 30%.

Over this period, the share of the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 increased by 13 percentage points, now representing a record 40% of the index. The top three stocks alone account for 21% of the index's market capitalisation. This illustrates the extent to which a few stocks drive the market overall.

The dominance of U.S. large-cap equities is a perceptible reality on a global scale. The USA now accounts for 75% of the MSCI world index, a 55-year high.

Most valuation indicators for US equities are at or near their highest levels since the dot-com bubble of 2000. Some of these indicators, such as the Buffett ratio (market capitalisation/GDP), have exceeded these levels. History shows that excessively high valuation levels have often led to negative performance in subsequent years.

In Switzerland, a popular initiative aims to amend the Swiss Federal Constitution to oblige the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to hold bitcoins on the same footing as gold as part of its currency reserves.

This groundbreaking initiative, officially registered in the Federal Gazette on 31 December 2024, aims to position Switzerland at the forefront of the global adoption of Bitcoin.

The proposal and its architects:

The initiative, entitled “For a financially sound, sovereign and responsible Switzerland”, was launched by Giw Zanganeh, Tether's Vice President for Energy and Mining, alongside Yves Bennaïm, founder of the Swiss non-profit Bitcoin think tank 2B4CH. Eight other Bitcoin advocates collaborated on the proposal, which requires 100,000 signatures by 30 June2026 to trigger a national referendum. This threshold represents around 1.12% of Switzerland's 8.92 million inhabitants.

If adopted, the proposed amendment would change Article 99(3) of the Swiss Federal Constitution to read, “The National Bank shall build up sufficient currency reserves from its own revenues; part of these reserves shall consist of gold and bitcoin.”

The official documents and instructions are available below. If you are Swiss, you can sign and return the document to BITCOIN VOLKSINITIATIVE, POSTFACH 521, 6440 BRUNNEN.

Exports of Russian gas via Soviet-era pipelines through Ukraine ceased on New Year’s Day, ending five decades of Moscow’s dominance over Europe’s energy markets and the era of affordable gas that fuelled Germany’s economic success.

Despite nearly three years of conflict, gas had continued to flow until Gazprom announced a halt at 5:00 a.m. GMT, attributing the stoppage to Ukraine’s refusal to renew a transit agreement.

Natural gas prices in Europe have risen throughout the year, more than doubling at the end of 2024 from their February lows. There is still a risk that prices will continue to rise.

The European Commission has reassured that the EU was prepared for this scenario. Since the war in Ukraine began, the EU has drastically reduced its reliance on Russian energy, turning instead to pipeline gas from Norway and LNG imports from Qatar and the United States.

"The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin," stated a Commission spokesperson. "It has been reinforced with significant new LNG (liquefied natural gas) import capacities since 2022."

The United States has emerged as the primary beneficiary of this shift, with LNG exports to Europe surging after the onset of the Ukraine war and the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline. In short, Europe has gone from total dependence on cheap Russian gas to total dependence on much more expensive American LNG.

Based on the average price per square meter for residential real estate, the 20 ski resorts listed below are the most expensive in the world. Aspen in Colorado takes 1st place, with an average price of 39,500 euros (36,974 Swiss francs). There are 7 Swiss resorts (blue columns) in the top 20: Verbier, St Moritz, Gstaad, Andermatt, Zermatt, Flims, Davos, Klosters and Grindelwad.