How to compare crypto assets

Start with the same dates

A comparison only makes sense if every asset is measured over exactly the same days. If one line starts in January and another in March, the difference between them may say more about those two months than about the assets.

The period you choose also matters on its own. The same pair of assets can swap places when you move the start date by a few weeks. That is not an error in the data. It shows that a single period is one snapshot, not a verdict.

A practical habit: look at the same comparison over a few different periods (for example one year, three years and the longest period available for both assets). If the picture changes a lot, treat any single result with care.

Put every asset on the same scale: base 100

Crypto prices differ hugely. One coin may trade in the tens of thousands of dollars and another for a few cents. On a normal price chart the cheaper asset would look like a flat line, whatever it actually did.

Base 100 fixes this. Each asset's price on the first day is set to 100, and every later day is shown relative to that start. A reading of 130 means the price is 30% above where it began. A reading of 70 means it is 30% below.

Because every line starts at the same point, you can see at a glance which asset rose or fell more over the period. The chart then shows a level, not a price. Note too that a low unit price does not make an asset "cheap". A coin at a few cents is not more likely to rise than a coin at a high price.

Period return: start and end only

Period return compares the last day's price with the first day's price:

return = end price ÷ start price − 1

Illustrative example, made-up numbers.

If an asset starts at 100 and ends at 120, the period return is +20%.

Period return is easy to understand, but it ignores everything in between. An asset that rose steadily and one that halved and then recovered can show the same return. That is why you need the next measure.

Drawdown: how far it fell on the way

Drawdown shows how far the price is below its highest point so far in the period. If the price is at a new high, drawdown is 0%. If it falls from a peak of 150 to 75, drawdown at that moment is −50%.

Worst drawdown is the deepest of those falls within the period you selected.

Illustrative example, made-up numbers: daily closes of 100, 150, 75 and 120.

The period return here is +20%, but anyone holding the asset would have seen half its peak value disappear on day 3. Drawdown helps you ask a useful question: could I have sat through a fall like that?

Two points to keep in mind. Drawdown is measured inside the period you chose, so it is not an all-time figure. And when the calculation uses daily closing prices, it can miss bigger swings that happened and reversed within a single day.

Volatility: how much it moved day to day

Volatility describes how much the price tended to move from one day to the next. Higher volatility means larger and more frequent swings, up and down. It is usually shown as an annualized percentage so that different periods can be compared.

Volatility is a description of the past. It is not the probability of losing money, and it does not tell you which direction prices will move. It also needs enough data to mean anything: a figure based on a few days is not reliable, so good tools show it as unavailable until there is enough history.

Read the three measures together:

• Return tells you where the asset ended up.
• Worst drawdown tells you the deepest fall along the way.
• Volatility tells you how bumpy the ride was overall.

An asset with a higher return and a much deeper drawdown is not simply "better". It took a different path, and the path matters to the person holding it.

What the numbers leave out

Historical comparisons are useful, but they have clear limits:

• Past performance does not predict future results. A strong period says nothing certain about the next one.
• Price return is not total return. The figures usually leave out staking rewards, airdrops, fees, taxes and inflation.
• Survivorship bias. Comparison tools cover assets that still exist and still trade. Coins that failed are not in the set, so the set can look better than the market as a whole.
• Closing prices are a reference. A real trade may happen at a different price, and fees and spreads reduce what you actually receive. Our guide to exchange fees explains those costs.

The exact formulas used in the Performance Lab, with a worked example, are on Returns and drawdowns explained. For a worked pair, see a Bitcoin vs Ethereum comparison.

A simple way to run a comparison

1. Pick the assets. The Performance Lab compares up to four assets at once. You can read background on each one on its coin page, which the supported assets list links to.
2. Choose one period for all of them. Start with a period both assets fully cover.
3. Read the base-100 chart to see the overall shape: steady, choppy, or one sharp move.
4. Switch to the drawdown view to see how deep and how long the falls were.
5. Check the table: return, worst drawdown and volatility side by side.
6. Change the period and see whether the picture holds.
7. Note what is missing. If a value shows as unavailable, there is a reason, such as a gap in the data or too little history. Do not fill it in with a guess.

Common mistakes

• Comparing different date ranges. Every asset must start and end on the same days.
• Comparing raw prices. A lower price per coin is not a sign of better value. Use base 100 or percentage returns.
• Looking only at return. A good return with a −70% drawdown on the way was a very different experience from a smooth one.
• Trusting one period. Test several start dates before drawing a conclusion.
• Treating the past as a forecast. A chart shows what happened, not what will happen.
• Forgetting costs. Fees, spreads and taxes reduce real-world results. A price chart does not include them.