This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: bitcoin and ether. While both are considered to be high-risk when it comes to investing, the two have foundational differences that investors should know. We’ve also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. According to Wikipedia, a cryptocurrency is “a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.”
Bitcoin
Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency and decentralized digital currency. The first bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009 and has since grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. It is often considered volatile, as seen in our first chart, but one can argue that it is also resilient. Learn more about some bitcoin basics for new investors.
Bitcoin rose for the first time in five weeks, rebounding over 5% but still holding below the $70,000 threshold. BTC is currently down approximately 25% year-to-date and sits about 47% below its October 2025 record high.
Ether
Ether is a cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform and was launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three discussed in this article.
Mirroring Bitcoin’s recovery, Ether’s closing price bounced back this week, rising over 9% but remaining below the $2,000 threshold. ETH is currently down approximately 40% year-to-date and is now roughly 63% below its record close from August 2025.
XRP
XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until new coins joined the market.
Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP
An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate relative percentage changes and long-term growth trends, as opposed to absolute price fluctuations. The chart demonstrates which cryptocurrency’s price has shifted the most since November 9, 2017. At various points in history, all three have held the top spot but Bitcoin is currently in the lead.
On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC ), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT ), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC ), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB ), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB ), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR ). Here are some of the quick takeaways from the spot bitcoin ETF launch.
On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE ), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET ), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW ), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA ), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH ). Here’s what investors need to know.
Originally published on Advisor Perspectives
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