Blockworks Report: Only 4.1% of Tokens Outperform BTC, Median Loss at 97%

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A Blockworks Research daily market report shows that only 4.1% of the 1,972 tokens analyzed outperformed Bitcoin as of June 2026, with the median token down 97% from its entry point. The weekly market report highlights a “wider base, thinner top” structure: 3,648 tokens had a market cap above $1 million in December 2024, but only 102 remained above $250 million by June 2026. Of the 187 tokens that outperformed BTC during 2020–21, 86.1% fell at least 90% from their November 2021 highs. Exchange tokens such as OKB, BNB, and CAKE remain the top performers, driven by buybacks and burns.

According to ChainCatcher, a research report by Blockworks Research shows that among the 1,972 tokens that first surpassed a $50 million market cap between January 2020 and December 2025, only 4.1% outperformed Bitcoin as of June 2026. Among tokens with at least 24 months of historical data, this figure dropped to 1.7%. The median token in the full sample has lost 97% of its value since entering the dataset. The report notes that the token market has adopted a pyramid structure with a widening base and a thinning top. The number of tokens with a market cap exceeding $1 million reached a record high of 3,648 in December 2024, but the tier of tokens with a market cap above $250 million has been in sustained decline since peaking in November 2021; as of June 2026, only 102 tokens remain above this threshold—roughly one-third of the 279 tokens recorded in November 2021. Of the 187 tokens that outperformed Bitcoin during the 2020–21 bull market, 86.1% have since declined at least 90% from their November 2021 peaks, with only OKB continuing to outperform Bitcoin. The report also finds that token performance has deteriorated rapidly over time: 86% of tokens issued in 2024 fell to below 10% of their initial price within 24 months, compared to just 18% for tokens issued in 2020 over the same period. The median peak value of tokens issued after 2023 was only 0.93 times their entry price—meaning they never surpassed their initial listing price—while the median peak for 2020 tokens reached 5.1 times their entry price. Exchange tokens are the only notable group consistently outperforming Bitcoin: BNB, OKB, GT, LEO, BGB, WBT, MX, and CAKE (PancakeSwap) have all outperformed Bitcoin, sharing the common trait of using fee revenue for regular buybacks and burns. The report’s authors conclude that the crypto market is transitioning from broad token expansion to a landscape dominated by a select few high-quality assets.

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