Bitcoin vs Solana: performance comparison
Over the 12 months to Oct 6, 2026, Bitcoin returned -31.5% and Solana -49.0%. This page puts the two side by side on the same dates — current prices, performance charts rebased to 100, returns from one month to five years, volatility, the deepest falls and how closely the two move together — recalculated daily from closing prices.
Performance, rebased to 100
Both lines start at 100 on the first shared date: a value of 150 means +50% since then.
- Bitcoin-22.7%
- Solana-40.1%
- Bitcoin+138.9%
- Solana+3,274.4%
Returns
| Period | Bitcoin | Solana | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | +7.4% | +13.5% | Solana |
| 3 months | +33.9% | +46.2% | Solana |
| 6 months | +25.6% | +52.2% | Solana |
| Year to date | -2.6% | -4.4% | Bitcoin |
| 1 year | -31.5% | -49.0% | Bitcoin |
| 3 years | +206.0% | +410.4% | Solana |
| 5 years | +54.2% | -22.4% | Bitcoin |
Price returns between closing prices on the same dates for both assets; dividends and interest are not included. All prices are in US dollars. Data to Oct 6, 2026.
Risk
| Measure | Bitcoin | Solana |
|---|---|---|
| Volatility, 1 year (annualized) | 42.1% | 64.6% |
| Volatility, 5 years (annualized, weekly) | 56.8% | 114.6% |
| Deepest fall, 5 years | -74.2%Nov 2021 – Dec 2022 | -96.1%Oct 2021 – Dec 2022 |
| Correlation, 1 year (daily returns) | 0.87 | |
| Correlation, 5 years (weekly returns) | 0.60 | |
Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of returns — higher means bigger swings. The deepest fall is the largest drop from a previous high. Correlation runs from −1 (opposite moves) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (in lockstep).
What the numbers say
Over five years (Jan 2021 to Oct 2026), Bitcoin returned +54.2% and Solana -22.4%. Bitcoin came out ahead over both one and five years.
Annualized volatility over the past year: Bitcoin 42.1%, Solana 64.6% — Solana was about 1.5× as volatile. Deepest fall over the period: Bitcoin -74.2% (Nov 2021 – Dec 2022), Solana -96.1% (Oct 2021 – Dec 2022).
The correlation of their daily returns over the past year was 0.87. That is a strong positive link: they have tended to move together. Over five years of weekly returns it was 0.60.
Past performance does not predict future returns.
Key differences
- Purpose: Bitcoin is a store-of-value network with a fixed 21 million supply; Solana is a fast smart-contract platform whose SOL token has ongoing, gradually declining inflation.
- Age and size: Bitcoin has run since 2009 and is by far the largest cryptocurrency; Solana launched in 2020.
- Risk: smaller cryptocurrencies such as SOL have usually been more volatile than Bitcoin; in the 2022 bear market SOL lost over 90% from its peak, against roughly three quarters for Bitcoin.
The two assets
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the first and largest cryptocurrency, running since 2009, with supply capped at 21 million coins and new issuance halving roughly every four years. Its price is driven by investor demand and market liquidity — including flows into spot ETFs — and by regulation.
Bitcoin chart and analysis →Solana
Solana is a high-throughput blockchain launched in 2020 and designed for fast, low-cost transactions; SOL pays its fees and is staked to secure the network. It is younger than Bitcoin and Ethereum and suffered several network outages in its first years.
Solana chart and analysis →Frequently asked questions
Which performed better over the past year, Bitcoin or Solana?
Bitcoin. In the 12 months to Oct 6, 2026, Bitcoin returned -31.5% and Solana -49.0%, a difference of 17.5 percentage points. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Which performed better over the past five years, Bitcoin or Solana?
Bitcoin. From Jan 2021 to Oct 2026, Bitcoin returned +54.2% and Solana -22.4%. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Which is more volatile, Bitcoin or Solana?
Solana — about 1.5 times as volatile as Bitcoin. Annualized volatility over the past year: Bitcoin 42.1%, Solana 64.6%. Deepest fall over five years: Bitcoin -74.2%, Solana -96.1%.
Do Bitcoin and Solana move together?
A strong positive link: they have tended to move together. The correlation of their daily returns over the past year was 0.87, on a scale from −1 (opposite moves) to +1 (moving in lockstep). Over five years of weekly returns it was 0.60.
How we calculate
Both series are aligned on the trading days (or weeks) they share, so every return covers the same dates for both assets. Periods up to one year use daily closes; three and five years use weekly closes. Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of log returns, the deepest fall is measured on weekly closes, and correlation is the Pearson coefficient of returns over identical intervals. Data: Yahoo Finance and OKX, refreshed daily. All prices are in US dollars.