A comparative analysis published on May 11 by XWIN Japan examined how Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, BNB, and Solana performed during six months of market stress from October 2025 through April 2026.
The report concluded the downturn reflected more than panic selling: it described an “internal selection” process in which investors discriminated between Bitcoin and the broader altcoin market amid macroeconomic pressure and tightening liquidity.
Bitcoin Held Up Better While Altcoins Suffered Deeper Losses
According to XWIN’s data, Bitcoin fell 52.5% during that period, sliding from a peak near $126,000 to roughly $60,000. Although this was a severe decline in absolute terms, Bitcoin outperformed most of the other major tokens.
Solana was hit the hardest, plunging 71.6% from its high of $238 to about $67. Ethereum and XRP each declined approximately 63%, while Binance Coin dropped 59%.
When measuring recovery from their lowest points, Solana posted the biggest rebound at 38%, followed by Bitcoin at 34.7%.
XWIN Japan divided the six-month window into three stages: a derivatives-driven unwind in late 2025, a macro-driven contraction of liquidity and rising fear in early 2026, and an institutional-led recovery in spring 2026.
The report argues Bitcoin’s relative resilience was not accidental. It attributes ongoing support to factors such as ETF inflows, corporate treasury purchases, and demand as a geopolitical hedge during times of market stress.
“Even during market stress, capital consistently returned to Bitcoin,” the analysis stated, characterizing BTC as evolving into a global macro asset rather than remaining solely a crypto token.
By contrast, Ethereum’s price collapsed despite sustained network activity. The analysis noted that staking growth, Layer-2 usage, and stablecoin settlement activity remained robust throughout the drawdown, even as ETH’s price fell from roughly $4,700 to below $1,800.
XRP’s relative performance, the report found, was driven largely by regulatory narratives and expectations around exchange-traded fund structures tied to cross-border payments, while BNB demonstrated slightly more stability thanks to activity within the Binance ecosystem.
Current Market Context
One way to gauge recovery since the drawdown is to compare present prices for the assets XWIN examined. At the time of the report’s follow-up, Bitcoin was trading around $81,000, representing an approximate 11% increase from the prior month.
Ethereum was near $2,300, up roughly 4% month-over-month. XRP rose about 7.5% over the same period and was trading near $1.45 at the time of reporting.
Solana showed the strongest recent performance, rising more than 12% over the past month and roughly 12% on the week, trading near $95.
Overall, XWIN Japan’s comparative analysis highlights a market environment where investors differentiated between perceived macro-hedge assets like Bitcoin and higher-risk altcoins, leading to uneven losses and recoveries across major tokens during the October 2025–April 2026 stress period.