For the past two years, owning anything other than Bitcoin has been a bust.

According to the latest report released by analyst firm Glassnode in conjunction with crypto exchange Bybit , over the past two years, Bitcoin has accumulated a 28% increase while market cap 's median of altcoin is down 74%, and Ethereum is basically flat. This set of data outlines the most striking characteristics of this cycle: earnings are highly concentrated on capital assets, marking a sharp reversal from the previous logics of money cycles for altseason .

Why the benefits are concentrated at the top of the pyramid

The report defines this differentiation as a core component of the current cycle: Bitcoin continues to grow profitably, while medium-sized coins decline after falling. Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency with almost no net gains during that period, further indicating that increases only cover very few major currencies.

In the past, a scenario familiar to many investors was that funds would gradually sink from Bitcoin to the smaller token once things matured.

Levers piled up in the most dangerous corners

The differentiation is also reflected in the distribution of leverage. The report shows that Bitcoin 's futures unsettled contracts account for about 2% of its market cap , while speculative small currencies have a much higher percentage of leverages, with PEPE close to 24%. In other words, bubbles are concentrated in the most risky corners of the market, whereas the strongest assets take on the burden of driving prices.

It should be noted that this report is the result of a collaboration between Glassnode and Bybit , with data as of August 23, closing, and the trading platforms covered by Glassnode are limited in scope.

Is the rotation being restarted?

Just a few days ago, influenced by the Federal Reserve's biased forecasts, Bitcoin rebounded to $80,000, triggering a synchronized rally of major stocks that saw the total crypto market rise 4.6% in one day to about $2.85 trillion.

In the rebound, several mainstream currencies won Bitcoin : Solana gained about 10% on the day and NEAR, Uniswap etc. showed a larger gain showing a rare breadth of spreads in the past year. Whether this signals that capital rotation is finally starting remains the focus of market attention.

Institutional funding still favours heads

In terms of cash inflows, institutional demand is still clearly biased towards capital assets. The Bitcoin ETF fund has a cumulative net inflow of about US$55.2 billion, far exceeding the approximately US$13.1 billion in the Ethereum fund, which recently experienced several consecutive days of net outflows.

The later launch of the smaller Solana Bitcoin ETF resulted in an accumulated inflow of about $29.7 million.