Nearly two-thirds of 2021’s top 100 altcoins have lost more than 90%, CoinMarketCap data shows | Fortune

Nearly two-thirds of the 100 largest altcoins from November 2021 have lost more than 90% of their value, with almost half down over 95% and 70 hitting post-peak lows this year, according to CoinMarketCap data as of Oct. 21. Over the same period Bitcoin gained about 30%, while only seven of the 100 tokens are worth more than at the 2021 peak, including Zcash (up 646%), TRON (up 212%), XRP (up 16%) and BNB (up 22%). Among the 81 tokens that fell at least 70%, median circulating supply rose about 50% while median market cap dropped roughly 95%, and even without new tokens entering circulation 77 of those 81 would still have lost at least 70%. The data undercuts the 2021 buy-and-hold thesis that strong teams and functioning networks would translate into token gains, a point Schwab Center for Financial Research director Jim Ferraioli attributed to investors missing whether a token actually captures the economic value its network creates. Investors will now focus on token supply dynamics and valuation-implied growth assumptions, with BNB cited as a case where burns cut supply 21% and lifted its price even as market cap sits about 4% below 2021 levels.