Why Holding Anything But Bitcoin Has Been a Losing Bet for Two Years

The gap between Bitcoin and the rest of the market has become a chasm. Over the past two years, Bitcoin gained 28% while the median mid-cap altcoin lost 74%, according to a new report from analytics firm Glassnode and crypto exchange Bybit.

The report frames the divergence as the defining feature of this cycle: Bitcoin compounding higher while the mid-cap complex “halves and halves again.”

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, landed roughly sideways over the stretch, underscoring how narrowly the gains concentrated at the top. It’s a stark reversal of the “altseason” pattern many holders came to expect, in which capital rotates from Bitcoin down into smaller tokens as a rally matures.

That concentration shows up in how leverage is distributed, too. Bitcoin carries futures open interest worth about 2% of its market capitalization, the report found, while speculative small caps carry far more, with PEPE near 24%. In other words, the froth has pooled in the market’s riskiest corners even as its safest asset has done the heavy lifting on price.

The usual caveats apply. The report is a Glassnode and Bybit collaboration, with data as of the settled close of August 23, and Glassnode’s venue coverage is limited, so the figures describe the venues it tracks rather than the entire market.

BitcoinBTC · USD

$80,723+4.54%

24H7D1M1YYTD

Sep 13Sep 15Sep 17Sep 18Sep 20

$81.8k$79.7k$77.6k$75.5k

24h HighHigh$81,864

24h LowLow$80,155

VolVol$967.2M

Market projectionsOdds by Myriad

Whether the rotation is turning is the live question. Just days ago, Bitcoin surged back above $80,000 after a dovish Federal Reserve forecast, and the rebound dragged the broader market with it, with the total crypto market capitalization up 4.6% in a day to about $2.85 trillion.

Several majors outran Bitcoin in the bounce, with Solana up roughly 10% on the day and names like NEAR and Uniswap posting far larger gains, hinting at the kind of breadth that had been missing for a year.

Institutional demand still tilts heavily toward the top. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have pulled in about $55.2 billion in cumulative net inflows, dwarfing the roughly $13.1 billion into Ethereum funds, which recently logged a multi-day outflow streak.

Solana’s spot ETFs, newer and smaller, have drawn about $29.7 million. The report’s own framing captures why that matters: flow concentrates where performance concentrates.