Why Holding Anything But Bitcoin Has Been a Losing Bet for Two Years
Bitcoin has dominated this cycle while most altcoins have lagged sharply. Over the past two years, Bitcoin rose 28% as the median mid-cap altcoin fell 74%, with Ethereum roughly flat, showing gains concentrated at the top rather than spread through the market. Leverage is also skewed: Bitcoin futures open interest is only about 2% of its market cap, while speculative small caps carry far more, with PEPE near 24%, suggesting risk appetite has clustered in the market’s most volatile names. Recent trading showed some renewed breadth, as Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000 and several majors such as Solana, NEAR, and Uniswap outperformed on the day. Still, institutional flows remain heavily tilted toward Bitcoin: spot Bitcoin ETFs have taken in about $55.2 billion, versus $13.1 billion for Ethereum funds, with Solana ETFs far smaller.
