XRP at $1.8616 and Solana at $124.25 were twice as volatile as Bitcoin at $87,872.22 in 2025, highlighting that altcoins remain far from the stability of the largest cryptocurrency.

Over the past year, realized volatility reached 87% for Solana and 80% for XRP, compared with Bitcoin’s 43%, according to CoinDesk Indices. Ether at $2,978.08 recorded 77%, while BNB at $856.58 saw 55% volatility.

Although altcoins have historically been more volatile than Bitcoin, the latest figures underscore challenges for ETFs and other investment products tied to these tokens, which need deeper liquidity to match Bitcoin’s relative calm.

Among the top four cryptocurrencies by market cap—excluding stablecoins—only BNB lacks CME futures or U.S.-listed spot ETFs as proxies for institutional activity. Since their debut in November, XRP ETFs have drawn over $1 billion from investors, while Solana ETFs have accumulated $763.91 million, according to SoSoValue.

Sustained ETF demand could help temper price swings, as observed with Bitcoin. Bitcoin spot ETFs, which launched in January 2024, have pulled in $56.96 billion, supporting advanced products like covered calls and contributing to lower volatility. Ether ETFs, which started in July 2024, have seen $12.4 billion in inflows, showing a similar stabilizing trend.