What is correlation in crypto?
Correlation measures how closely two prices move together, on a scale from -1 to 1. At 1 their daily moves always line up, at 0 there is no link, and at -1 they move in opposite directions. In crypto it is usually measured on daily returns, and most large coins correlate strongly with Bitcoin.
From the Staxo crypto glossary. The examples use Kraken daily candles (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, for the eight coins on Staxo's free plan that are not stablecoins.
How correlation between two coins is calculated
Correlation is measured on returns, not on prices. Two prices that both trend down over a year will look related even if their daily moves have nothing in common, so you first turn each price series into daily changes. Then the Pearson correlation coefficient compares the two lists day by day: it is high when both coins tend to be above their average move on the same days and below it on the same days.
The result runs from -1 to 1. For Bitcoin and Ethereum from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, it was 0.91: the two closed in the same direction on 316 of the 365 days. A correlation of 0.9 does not mean the moves were the same size, only that they lined up very consistently.
Correlation matrix of the top coins
| Coin | BTC | ETH | BNB | SOL | XRP | ADA | DOGE | TRX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 1 | 0.91 | 0.80 | 0.87 | 0.86 | 0.80 | 0.80 | 0.42 |
| Ethereum | 0.91 | 1 | 0.80 | 0.88 | 0.83 | 0.82 | 0.81 | 0.40 |
| BNB | 0.80 | 0.80 | 1 | 0.81 | 0.74 | 0.76 | 0.78 | 0.45 |
| Solana | 0.87 | 0.88 | 0.81 | 1 | 0.82 | 0.83 | 0.82 | 0.37 |
| XRP | 0.86 | 0.83 | 0.74 | 0.82 | 1 | 0.83 | 0.84 | 0.37 |
| Cardano | 0.80 | 0.82 | 0.76 | 0.83 | 0.83 | 1 | 0.88 | 0.39 |
| Dogecoin | 0.80 | 0.81 | 0.78 | 0.82 | 0.84 | 0.88 | 1 | 0.40 |
| TRON | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.45 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.39 | 0.40 | 1 |
The closest pair was Bitcoin and Ethereum at 0.91, and 15 of the 28 pairs were at 0.80 or above. TRON was the exception: its correlation with every other coin stayed between 0.37 and 0.45, and the loosest pair of all was XRP and TRON at 0.37. Each pair has its own page in the coin comparisons.
Correlation and beta
Correlation says how consistently two coins move together, not how far. That is what beta adds: the average move of a coin for each 1% move in Bitcoin. Ethereum's correlation with Bitcoin was 0.91 and its beta 1.27, so it tended to move with Bitcoin and by more. TRON's beta was 0.22.
| Coin | Correlation with Bitcoin | Beta to Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 1 | 1.00 |
| Ethereum | 0.91 | 1.27 |
| Solana | 0.87 | 1.28 |
| XRP | 0.86 | 1.27 |
| Cardano | 0.80 | 1.38 |
| Dogecoin | 0.80 | 1.22 |
| BNB | 0.80 | 0.87 |
| TRON | 0.42 | 0.22 |
What correlation means for a portfolio
High correlation limits diversification. On Bitcoin's 20 worst days of the year, an average of 6.8 of the other 7 free-plan coins fell on the same day. Holding five altcoins next to Bitcoin spreads the money across names, but much less across risks.
Correlation also moves, more for some pairs than for others. Over rolling 90-day windows, Bitcoin and Ethereum stayed between 0.88 and 0.94, while Bitcoin and TRON ranged from 0.09 to 0.58 within the same year. And it describes a link, not a cause: two coins can move together because both react to the same news, not because one drives the other.
How to practice it in Staxo
Staxo's free plan has all eight coins in the matrix, so you can test correlation with your own demo money. Split part of your $500 into three equal positions, for example Bitcoin, Ethereum and TRON, and check them in your Portfolio at the end of each day for two weeks. Write down on how many days each pair moved in the same direction.
You will see the Bitcoin and Ethereum positions rise and fall together on most days, while TRON often goes its own way. That is the difference between owning more coins and owning coins that behave differently.
Free on iPhone and Android, $500 in demo money. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
Correlation questions
Which crypto is least correlated with Bitcoin?
Of the eight coins on Staxo's free plan that are not stablecoins, TRON had the lowest correlation with Bitcoin from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, 0.42. The next lowest was BNB at 0.80. Stablecoins hold about $1 and barely move with anything.
Can crypto correlation be negative?
Yes, but between large coins it rarely is for long. A negative correlation means one coin tends to rise when the other falls. None of the 28 pairs here had a negative correlation over the year.
Try it with $500 in demo money.
Free download, no card. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
Educational content, not investment advice. The examples describe prices from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026 and say nothing about where they go next. Staxo is a simulator: you practice with demo money, never real money.