Bitcoin Crushes the Competition: Why Altcoins Have Lost Big for 2 Years

Bitcoin gained 28% over two years while smaller cryptocurrencies collapsed. Here's why betting on anything but Bitcoin backfired.

If you bought any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin over the past two years, chances are you lost money. A new report reveals just how lopsided the crypto market has become.

Bitcoin has left everything else in the dust. According to a report from analytics firm Glassnode and crypto exchange Bybit, here's how the numbers stack up over two years:

Bitcoin (the largest cryptocurrency): gained 28%
The typical mid-sized altcoin (any crypto that isn't Bitcoin): lost 74%
Ethereum (the second-biggest cryptocurrency): barely moved, ending roughly flat

This is a big surprise for many crypto holders. Normally, there's a pattern called "altseason" — when Bitcoin rises, investors are expected to shift their money into smaller coins to chase bigger gains. This time, that rotation simply didn't happen. The money stayed at the top.

The riskiest bets are also the most crowded. The report looked at "futures open interest" — this measures how much borrowed money (called leverage, where traders borrow to bet bigger) is riding on each coin:

Bitcoin: leverage equals only about 2% of its total value — relatively safe
PEPE (a meme coin): leverage equals about 24% — very risky

In plain terms, gamblers are piling risky bets onto the smallest coins, while the safest coin (Bitcoin) is doing all the real work of pushing prices up.

Big investors are following the winners too. Money flowing into "spot ETFs" (funds that let regular investors buy crypto through the stock market) shows the same story:

Bitcoin ETFs: about $55.2 billion invested
Ethereum ETFs: about $13.1 billion (and recently losing money)
Solana ETFs (newer): just $29.7 million

Is the tide finally turning? Recently, Bitcoin jumped back above $80,000 after the U.S. Federal Reserve (America's central bank) signaled it might make borrowing cheaper. This lifted the whole market, with coins like Solana, NEAR, and Uniswap rising even faster than Bitcoin — a possible early sign that smaller coins may catch up.

Bottom line: For two years, Bitcoin has been the safest and smartest crypto bet, while smaller coins burned investors. Whether that's about to change is the big question everyone is watching.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://decrypt.co/378695/holding-anything-but-bitcoin-losing-bet