Does this mean altcoins never rallied?

No. It means rallies pooled in risky corners and did not last long enough to beat holding Bitcoin across the full stretch.

What do Glassnode and Bybit mean by heavy lifting?

They mean Bitcoin carried market value forward while other coins lagged, so Bitcoin exposure kept pace and broad alt exposure did not.

How will we know if the trend is changing?

Watch whether alts start to lead for more than a short burst and whether breadth improves beyond a few hot tokens.

BATMI AIOnline · story

Using: Article · Sources · Market context

Bitcoin Beat Alts for Two Years, Report Says

Bitcoin beat every alt bet for two years

Bitcoin20 Sept 2026, 14:25 UTC2 min readBTC

Written by

CoinBatmi Newsroom

Published

Sep 20, 2026

Every figure in this brief is checked against live market data before publication. See our data methodology and editorial policy.

Research and market information only — not financial advice. Report a correction or contact [email protected].

Bitcoin beat every alt bet for two years

CoinBatmiConnecting to market data

Holding anything but Bitcoin has been a losing bet for two years, Glassnode and Bybit say in a joint report. The firms frame that split as the defining feature of this cycle. It's a simple claim and it's blunt. Bitcoin has done the heavy lifting while the rest has lagged.

Bitcoin did the heavy lifting

That phrase means work, not hype. In this context it means Bitcoin held value and pulled the market forward while other coins did not keep up. So a holder who sat in Bitcoin kept pace with the cycle. A holder who spread out into other tokens fell behind. The gap did not close after a few bad weeks. It stuck. Patience did not fix it either. Waiting through dips works when the whole market moves together. It doesn't work when one asset leads and the others drift.

Froth pooled in the market's riskiest corners

Froth is fast money chasing the sharpest move. It piles into small tokens, new launches, and crowded trades because they can jump fast. It also falls fast. That money did not lift the whole alt market. It pooled. A few corners looked hot for a stretch while most tokens sat still. So breadth was thin even when screens were green. Think of it as a flow problem. A flow here is just where cash actually goes. Cash went to Bitcoin first and stayed there. Cash went to risky corners in bursts, then left.

Alt holders paid for the gap

If you held Bitcoin, you owned the asset doing the work. If you held the rest, you owned the drag. That's the whole divergence in one line. It hurts because diversification is supposed to help. And it often does in stocks. In this cycle it didn't. Spreading out meant buying more of what lagged. Friends will ask if this means alts are dead. It doesn't mean that. It means they have not paid for two years of risk. Past runs do not erase that bill. Glassnode and Bybit will update their data and the gap will either shrink or hold. Watch their next read on Bitcoin dominance and alt breadth. If alts can't take a turn as leaders, the two-year line stands.

Bitcoin Beat Alts for Two Years, Report Says

Bitcoin Beat Alts for Two Years, Report Says

Bitcoin beat every alt bet for two years

Bitcoin Beat Alts for Two Years, Report Says

Bitcoin beat every alt bet for two years

Bitcoin did the heavy lifting

Froth pooled in the market's riskiest corners

Alt holders paid for the gap

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