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Not Just Bitcoin: Baskets Show The Wider Market Story

Indices

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Layer 1

Solana

XRP

Written by Adam Morgan McCarthy

22/09/2025

    Welcome to the Data Debrief!

    As we approach the end of the third quarter, we’re casting an eye over the broader market and which individual assets are driving returns. Despite BTC languishing over the summer, as ETH and XRP outperformed it, BTC has still dominated the narrative. However, we found that it’s not just the original cryptocurrency that’s driving returns in the market right now.

    • Altcoin baskets have outperformed Bitcoin over the past year.

    • Altcoin baskets showed higher volatility and drawdowns than BTC.

    • BTC and ETH baskets offered better risk‑adjusted returns than pure altcoin baskets.

    Not Just Bitcoin: Baskets Show The Wider Market Story

    BTC was briefly dethroned over the summer as ETH set a new all-time high for the first time in nearly four years and XRP broke a seven-year dry spell. However, as the market dipped this weekend, the headlines returned to BTC as the driver for the broader market, however, indices returns reveal its not all about BTC.

    In fact, both the Kaiko 5 and 10 indices, both of which extend beyond BTC have outperformed BTC over the past twelve months. The KT5 experienced the largest returns, suggesting its exposure to other household names in the space such as XRP and SOL helped drive returns. ETH’s recent outperformance relative to BTC also contributed to the KT5’s outsized returns. This, despite consistent fears that a so-called “altcoin season” might never arrive.

    Screenshot 2025-09-22 at 17.26.16

    It’s not just flagship indices outperforming though. Baskets tracking assets that don’t include BTC or ETH offered the best returns over the past 12 months. The Kaiko Altcoin Index, a top 10 index that excludes BTC and ETH, and the Eagle Index, a regional index designed to capture shifts in the U.S. crypto market, offered triple digit returns above any other product.

    While the trends observed above show a shift in market leadership, there are several structural drivers behind the move. Read the full report now to see what’s driving this trend.

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    Data Used In This Analysis

    Our industry-leading research is the direct result of combining our proprietary data with world-class in-house experts. Bringing the very best of Kaiko’s people and data together, we unlock the unique insights that form the basis for our discoveries and analysis. We believe in doing so, our data speaks for itself, helping both our clients and the wider industry get a better understanding of the crypto ecosystem, and the evolving trends and patterns in motion at a regional and global scale.

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