Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, Tron Outperform Ethereum, Cardano

An investor who invested $100 each month from January 2022 through August 2026 would have contributed $5,600 in total. CryptoRank data show the hypothetical portfolios were worth about $8,660 for Bitcoin, $8,465 for XRP, $8,025 for Solana and $16,521 for Tron by August 2026. Ethereum ended at roughly $4,898, a 12.5% loss, and Cardano at about $2,616, a 53.3% loss.

Dollar-cost averaging, the practice of investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule, produced different outcomes because each token followed a different price path. The $5,600 placed into Tron grew to $16,521, a 195% return. Bitcoin, XRP and Solana each finished with gains above 40 percent. Recurring buys in Ethereum and Cardano did not recover the full amount invested by August 2026.

Most of the gains for the winning portfolios accumulated during a broad market rally in 2024. By the end of that year the CryptoRank data show the Solana DCA holding at $17,728, XRP at $14,345, Bitcoin at $10,193 and Cardano at $7,251.

The 2024 rally coincided with regulatory and market events. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products in January 2024 and spot Ethereum products in May 2024. After the November 2024 U.S. presidential election, markets moved on expectations of regulatory changes; the administration later established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and enacted the GENIUS Act, which created a federal framework for payment stablecoins.

Prices reversed after the 2024 peak. Solana’s DCA value fell from $17,728 at the end of 2024 to $8,025 by August 2026, a decline of about 55%. XRP declined by $5,880 from its 2024 level to finish at $8,465. Cardano fell to $2,616, turning a profitable position at the end of 2024 into a loss on the full $5,600 invested. Bitcoin’s DCA holding rose to around $10,800 in 2025 before retreating to $8,660 in 2026; Ethereum reached about $6,501 in 2025 and fell to $4,898 by August 2026.

SoSoValue data show assets under management at U.S. crypto exchange-traded funds fell from more than $123 billion during the 2024 expansion to about $92 billion as prices declined. Bitcoin ETFs hold roughly $78.3 billion and Ethereum products about $10.6 billion.

Price paths differed by asset. Ethereum traded near $3,770 at the start of 2022 and around $1,900 in August 2026, about 50% lower. Cardano fell from about $1.38 to $0.20, roughly an 85% decline. Solana traded below $10 after the FTX collapse and later rebounded; despite remaining about 59% below its early-2022 price, the recurring purchases produced a 43.3% gain by August 2026. TRX rose from about $0.075 to $0.33 over the period, more than a 300% increase, with the DCA portfolio returning 195%.

The results reflect the different price movements each asset experienced between January 2022 and August 2026, according to the data sources cited.