Bitwise’s Matt Hougan says median top-20 crypto asset is down 15% this year

A positive 14% average return hides a market where most large-cap tokens are losing money, with Hyperliquid and Zcash doing the heavy lifting The typical large-cap crypto asset is having a rough year. According to Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, the median return among the top 20 crypto assets sits at a 15% loss year-to-date. The average return across that same group, meanwhile, is up 14%. Same assets, same year, two very different stories. Hougan shared the figures on X on November 2, 2026. The gap between those two numbers says more about the current market than either figure does alone. Two numbers, one market Hougan’s observation turns on the difference between a median and a mean. The median is the middle value. Line up all 20 assets from worst to best performer, and the median tells you what the asset in the middle of the pack did. The mean is the simple average. Add up every return, divide by 20, and you get the mean. When the median is negative and the mean is positive, the math tells you something specific. More of the top 20 are losing ground than gaining it, but the winners are winning by enough to offset everyone else. The names doing the heavy lifting Hou...