Grayscale research identifies six different cryptocurrencies that led quarterly performance rankings among the 10 largest non-stablecoin assets from the first quarter of 2025 through the current quarter, noting that Bitcoin did not finish first in any of those periods, according to BeInCrypto.
The report tracks price returns using data available as of November 4. XRP led the first quarter of 2025. Ethereum held the top spot for the following two quarters, posting a 36% gain in the second quarter and a 67% gain in the third quarter of 2025.
Rotation Among Top Assets
BNB led the fourth quarter of 2025 despite a 14% decline, as every asset in the top-10 group fell during that period. TRON followed in the first quarter of 2026 with a 10% gain. Hyperliquid jumped 78% to lead the second quarter of 2026, a period Grayscale had previously noted for financial tokens outperforming meme coins. Zcash recorded the largest gain on the board in the third quarter of 2026, rising 260%.
Bitcoin’s best finish in the tracked period was second place in the second quarter of 2025, when it gained 30%. The asset placed third in four quarters and finished last in the third quarter of 2025. Through November 4 of the current quarter, all 10 assets in the group were down. TRON led this period with a 5% loss, while Bitcoin ranked third with a 7% decline. Zcash, the previous quarter’s leader, slipped to seventh place with a 15% drop.
Volatility and Institutional Context
Grayscale states that Bitcoin constitutes the entire crypto allocation for many institutional portfolios. The firm’s sector data indicates that Bitcoin explained only about half of return variation across the FTSE Grayscale Crypto Sectors over a three-year period. Sector and asset-specific drivers accounted for the remainder of the variation.
AI tokens showed the least dependence on Bitcoin, with sector-specific factors contributing 50% of annualized volatility compared to 35% tied to Bitcoin. The Currencies sector exhibited the opposite pattern, with Bitcoin-driven volatility measuring 43% against 7% from sector-specific factors. The report notes that Bitcoin’s own volatility has fallen to 43%, a level within the range of the S&P 500. It also cites J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 2027 assumptions, which project a 10% compound annual Bitcoin return over a decade.
As of November 4, only 2 percentage points separated Bitcoin from TRON in the current quarterly rankings. A top finish before December 31 would mark Bitcoin’s first lead in Grayscale’s table. Grayscale added a caveat to its findings, stating that none of the data means crypto is low risk.
