Oil’s blistering rally and crypto’s stumble made the first quarter of 2026 feel like a regime change rather than a routine quarter.
- USO shares are climbing. See the chart and price action here.
Oil, as proxied by the United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE:USO), surged roughly 84% in Q1, turning a traditionally cyclical commodity into the standout momentum trade of the quarter.
In fact, USO gained 55.3% in March alone, marking its best monthly performance in history, and Q1 was the fund’s best quarterly performance ever, according to Benzinga Pro data.
At the same time, digital gold lost its shine: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), tracked via spot-exposed vehicles like iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), dropped about 23%, marking one of its worst opening quarters in years and the weakest return of any major asset in Bespoke Investment Group’s Q1 review.
Q1 Winners
Bespoke review matrix shows that strength is clustered in real assets and cyclicals rather than the mega-cap growth complex that dominated prior years.
Energy ETFs ripped higher alongside USO’s …