[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Bitcoin has outperformed most altcoins on a long-term investment basis, and OKB, the OKX exchange token, is the only token to maintain higher returns than bitcoin from the 2021 bull-market peak to the present.

Cryptopolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Aug. 5 (local time) that Messari analyst Carlos Gonzalez Campo said in a recently released analysis that only 22 tokens beat bitcoin’s returns over the past 24 months. Expanding the reference point back to the 2021 bull market, only OKB maintained outperformance, he said.

The analysis shows both rapid turnover in the altcoin market and bitcoin’s long-term competitiveness. During the 2020 to 2021 bull market, about 187 cryptocurrencies posted higher returns than bitcoin. By 2026, the number of projects maintaining the same level of performance has fallen sharply. Many of the tokens that beat bitcoin over the past two years are new projects that did not exist four years ago.

Exchange tokens stood out among recent outperformers. About 32 percent of the tokens that beat bitcoin were exchange tokens, including Binance (BNB), OKX (OKB), Gate (GT), Bitfinex (LEO), Bitget (BGB), WhiteBIT (WBT), MEXC (MX) and PancakeSwap (CAKE). CAKE was the only decentralised exchange (DEX) token among them.

Major blockchain projects including Ethereum, Solana and Tron also beat bitcoin over some periods, and some meme coins and emerging projects showed strength in specific market phases.

But the gap was clearer in long-term results. The analysis found OKB was the only token to maintain excess returns versus bitcoin from the November 2021 bull-market peak to the present. By contrast, about 86 percent of the 187 tokens that beat bitcoin at the time have fallen more than 90 percent from their all-time highs. The median decline for the group was 98 percent.

Markets are focusing on the fact that while the leading altcoin changes each cycle, bitcoin keeps its status as a benchmark asset. When bitcoin fell below $70,000 in June and underwent a correction of about 12 percent over roughly two weeks, Near Protocol (NEAR), Internet Computer (ICP) and Render outperformed bitcoin. All three projects are classified as part of an artificial intelligence (AI)-related ecosystem.

Some tokens in decentralised finance (DeFi) also showed short-term strength. Hyperliquid rose more than 160 percent year-to-date at the time, but Uniswap, Ondo and Aave, which led the previous cycle, posted double-digit losses on an annual basis. Bitwise analysts said this showed a 'silent repricing' in the DeFi market.

The broader altcoin market remained weak. As of late June, more than 84 percent of all altcoins traded below their 200-day moving average, marking the longest slump since the 2022 bear market. CryptoQuant analyst Darkfrost said, "Altcoins are showing a higher correlation with bitcoin, and when bitcoin falls they tend to decline by a bigger margin."

Some recovery emerged in July, but the market structure did not change significantly. Bitcoin rose about 9.03 percent over the month and still outperformed most altcoins, while Ethereum gained 20.32 percent over the same period, beating bitcoin and many altcoins.

That has not been seen as leading to a trend reversal strong enough to change overall market direction. Markets say the analysis shows bitcoin still has strong defensive power from a long-term investment perspective. Cases of altcoins posting high short-term returns continue to appear, but instances of sustained outperformance over long periods remain extremely rare.