Bitcoin vs Ethereum Fundamentals: 12 Metrics Compared Side by Side
Bitcoin vs Ethereum is the comparison every crypto beginner eventually makes, and most write-ups answer it with philosophy — digital gold versus world computer. This one answers it with numbers. Below are the two largest crypto-assets scored side by side on the 12 metrics of Stoxly's 10-point crypto checklist, with the data pulled on 16 September 2026. The point is not to declare a winner; it is to show how two established networks score differently on identical rules, and what those differences actually mean.
The two networks in one paragraph each
Bitcoin launched in January 2009 as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, described in a nine-page whitepaper. Its design priorities are simplicity, security and a fixed monetary policy: 21 million coins, issued on a halving schedule, secured by proof-of-work mining. It changes slowly by design.
Ethereum launched in July 2015 as a programmable blockchain — a shared computer on which developers deploy applications, from stablecoins to decentralised exchanges, as described in its developer documentation. It has no maximum supply, burns part of every transaction fee since EIP-1559, and moved from mining to proof-of-stake in 2022. It changes constantly by design.
The 12 metrics side by side
| Metric | Bitcoin (BTC) | Ethereum (ETH) | Stoxly threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $1.52T | $293B | > $1B — both pass |
| Market cap rank | #1 | #2 | ≤ 100 — both pass |
| 24h volume / market cap | 2.56% | 6.54% | ≥ 1% — both pass |
| Exchanges | 71 | 68 | ≥ 10 — both pass |
| Supply issued | 95.6% | N/A (uncapped) | ≥ 50% — BTC passes, ETH not scored |
| Project age | 17.7 years | 11.1 years | ≥ 3 years — both pass |
| Developer commits (4 weeks) | N/A | N/A | > 0 — not reported by the provider at pull time |
| Below all-time high | −39.9% | −51.4% | informational |
| Annualized volatility (3y) | 48.7% | 72.5% | < 80% — both pass |
| 1-year return | −30.8% | −37.6% | > 0% — both fail |
| 3-year return p.a. | +29.8% | +9.7% | > 0% — both pass |
| Max drawdown (5y) | −73.0% | −77.0% | informational |
| Score | 8/10 — Established Asset | 7/10 — Established Asset |
Prices at pull time: BTC $75,795, ETH $2,400. Market and supply data from CoinGecko; price history from Yahoo Finance month-end closes. Developer commit data was not reported by the data provider on the day the numbers were pulled, so the check was skipped for both rather than scored — that is Stoxly's rule for missing data.
Where they agree
On liquidity, the two are in a class of their own. Both trade on roughly 70 distinct exchanges, both turn over several percent of their market cap every day, and both are so far above the $1 billion size line that the check is a formality. Whatever else you conclude, neither asset carries the exit risk that dominates the rest of the crypto market — the liquidity section of the checklist is where most altcoins fail, and it is where these two are strongest.
On maturity, both have survived multiple full cycles. Bitcoin's 17 years and Ethereum's 11 both clear the three-year line by a wide margin. And on the return checks, both tell the same story: a negative twelve months inside a positive three-year window, which is what a drawdown within an uptrend looks like on a two-point trend filter.
Where they differ
Supply. This is the structural difference. Bitcoin has issued 95.6% of a fixed 21 million maximum; the remaining 4.4% arrives over more than a century at a halving rate. Ethereum has no maximum, so the issued-share check is undefined and Stoxly marks it N/A rather than failing it. That is the right treatment for a design choice — Ethereum's fee burn has at times made its net issuance negative — but it does mean Ethereum's long-run supply depends on network usage and governance, while Bitcoin's is fixed in code. If you want to understand the mechanics, our post on circulating vs max supply covers both models.
Volatility. Ethereum's three-year annualized volatility of 72.5% is about half again Bitcoin's 48.7%, and its five-year drawdown and distance from the all-time high are both deeper. The pattern is consistent across cycles: the smaller, more actively evolving network swings harder in both directions. Both still pass the 80% line, but with very different margins — Bitcoin comfortably, Ethereum with less room. The volatility and drawdowns guide puts both next to the S&P 500.
Performance. Over three years Bitcoin compounded at nearly 30% a year against Ethereum's under 10% — a large gap that mostly reflects Bitcoin's stronger relative performance since spot Bitcoin ETFs broadened its buyer base. Over one year both fell; Ethereum fell further. These numbers move quickly and will look different when you read this, which is exactly why the checklist scores them as simple positive-or-negative trend filters rather than ranking assets by return.
What the score does not capture
The one-point gap — 8 versus 7 — comes entirely from the supply check that Ethereum cannot be scored on. The checklist is not saying Bitcoin is the better investment; it is saying that on measurable market, supply and maturity data, both are established assets and Bitcoin's supply schedule is the more predictable of the two.
Everything that makes the two networks genuinely different lives outside the checklist: what each is used for, who builds on it, how it is governed, how its security model holds up, and what regulators decide it is. MiCA in the EU (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) and the SEC's evolving position in the US treat different crypto-assets differently, and that can matter as much as any metric in the table. Use the scores to confirm that both clear the hygiene bar — then do the qualitative work.
FAQ
Which has better fundamentals, Bitcoin or Ethereum?
On Stoxly's ten measurable checks, Bitcoin scored 8/10 and Ethereum 7/10 in September 2026, with the difference coming from the supply check that Ethereum's uncapped design cannot be scored on. Both earned the "Established Asset" verdict. "Better" beyond that depends on what you value — a fixed monetary policy or a programmable network — which no checklist can decide for you.
Why is Ethereum's supply check N/A instead of a fail?
Because Ethereum has no maximum supply, so "circulating divided by maximum" has no denominator. Stoxly never scores a metric that cannot be computed, for crypto or for stocks — a missing value is skipped, not counted against the asset. Ethereum's issuance is governed by protocol rules and offset by fee burning, which is a different model rather than a worse one.
Is Ethereum riskier than Bitcoin?
By the price-based measures in this comparison, yes: higher volatility (72.5% vs 48.7% annualized), a deeper five-year drawdown and a larger distance from its all-time high. Ethereum also carries more protocol-change risk because it evolves faster. Bitcoin's risks are different in kind — concentration of mining, a long-run security budget that depends on fees — and do not show up in price statistics.
Want to run the same comparison on any two coins? Run a free crypto analysis for each and compare the cards.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Crypto-assets are highly volatile and you can lose your entire investment.
For educational purposes only — not financial advice.