July 18, 2026 Checkpoint
The Crypto Race 2026 is still moving through a difficult phase.
With the exception of Akash, every asset in Category 1 is now showing a negative return since the race began on January 3. In Category 2, only Gnosis remains ahead of Bitcoin.
The main takeaway from this checkpoint comes from the comparison between the two rankings tracked since January:
- without rewards, Bitcoin moves back into third place;
- with rewards included, ATOM remains on the podium.
After almost seven months, staking and node yields are therefore starting to affect the ranking in a concrete way.
CAT 1 — Akash Stumbles, Bitcoin Moves Up Without Accelerating
| Rank | Asset | Performance since January 3 | Weekly performance | Gap vs BTC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akash | +40.9% | −9.6% | +70.0 pts |
| 2 | Bittensor | −22.1% | −8.8% | +7.0 pts |
| 3 ▲ | Bitcoin | −29.1% | −0.2% | — |
| 4 ▼ | Cosmos | −30.2% | −5.0% | −1.1 pts |
| 5 | Algorand | −34.9% | −3.8% | −5.8 pts |
| 6 | Osmosis | −37.6% | −7.3% | −8.5 pts |
| 7 | Ethereum | −41.3% | +2.5% | −12.2 pts |
| 8 | Avalanche | −52.6% | −2.8% | −23.5 pts |
Akash remains well ahead, but loses another 9.6% over the week. Its performance since the beginning of the race falls back to +40.9%.
The lead remains substantial: AKT still holds more than a 60-point advantage over Bittensor. However, the leader is no longer extending the gap and is gradually giving back part of its gains.
Bittensor remains in second place despite a weekly decline of 8.8%. Its lead over Bitcoin is now limited to seven points.
Bitcoin Returns to the Podium
Bitcoin ends the week almost unchanged, with a weekly move of −0.2%.
That relative stability is enough to overtake ATOM, which fell by 5%, and reclaim third place in the ranking excluding rewards.
BTC now shows a performance of −29.1%, compared with −30.2% for Cosmos. Only 1.1 points separate the two assets.
Ethereum is the only CAT 1 asset to post a positive week, rising by 2.5%. ETH nevertheless remains seventh since the start of the race.
Avalanche continues to sit at the bottom of the ranking with a performance of −52.6%.
CAT 2 — Gnosis Strengthens Its Position, Nolus Drops Back
| Rank | Asset | Performance since January 3 | Weekly performance | Gap vs BTC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gnosis | −15.5% | +5.4% | +13.6 pts |
| 2 ▲ | Band Protocol | −52.0% | +2.2% | −22.9 pts |
| 3 ▲ | Flux | −60.2% | −5.6% | −31.2 pts |
| 4 ▲ | Shentu | −63.1% | −6.2% | −34.0 pts |
| 5 ▼▼▼ | Nolus | −66.5% | −30.2% | −37.4 pts |
| 6 | Lava | −88.2% | +9.5% | −59.1 pts |
Gnosis remains clearly in control of CAT 2.
With a performance of −15.5%, GNO is still the only asset in this category outperforming Bitcoin. Its weekly gain of 5.4% strengthens that position further.
Band Protocol moves up one place and returns to second. FLUX and Shentu also climb in the ranking despite posting negative weekly performances.
Their rise is mainly explained by another sharp fall from Nolus.
Nolus Loses Three Places
Nolus falls by 30.2% in one week.
Its performance since the start of the race drops to −66.5%. NLS moves directly from second to fifth place, overtaken by Band, FLUX, and Shentu.
After spending a long period among the more resilient assets in CAT 2, Nolus has lost most of that advantage in just two weeks.
Lava records the strongest weekly performance in the category, rising by 9.5%, but remains last with an overall decline of 88.2%.
Without Rewards, Bitcoin Is Third
The main ranking is based on the price performance of each asset.
| Rank | Asset | Performance without rewards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akash | +40.9% |
| 2 | Bittensor | −22.1% |
| 3 | Bitcoin | −29.1% |
| 4 | Cosmos | −30.2% |
Based on price alone, Bitcoin leads ATOM by 1.1 points.
The ranking changes once the rewards accumulated since January are included.
With Rewards, ATOM Keeps Its Podium Position
| Rank | Asset | Without rewards | With estimated rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akash | +40.9% | +49.5% |
| 2 | Bittensor | −22.1% | −20.2% |
| 3 | Cosmos | −30.2% | −24.3% |
| 4 | Bitcoin | −29.1% | −28.7% |
The estimated rewards improve ATOM’s performance by around six points. Cosmos therefore remains third ahead of Bitcoin in the ranking that includes staking.
The same difference can be seen in CAT 2:
| Asset | Without rewards | With estimated rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Gnosis | −15.5% | −13.2% |
| Band Protocol | −52.0% | −46.6% |
| Shentu | −63.1% | −55.9% |
| Nolus | −66.5% | −65.7% |
The overall order remains unchanged, but the difference is significant for Band and Shentu.
The Specific Case of FLUX
For FLUX, this is a node yield rather than staking.
The current annual yield varies approximately between 37% and 47%, depending on the node tier.
Based on price alone, FLUX currently shows a performance of −60.2%. Once an estimated node yield is included, the overall performance would be approximately:
- −51.5% with an annual yield close to 37%;
- −48.8% with an annual yield close to 47%.
The result remains negative, but the gap compared with the token-only performance reaches almost ten points.
Conclusion
Akash remains at the top of the Crypto Race 2026 despite another significant decline.
Bittensor stays second. Bitcoin returns to third place in the ranking excluding rewards, ahead of ATOM. In CAT 2, Gnosis continues to dominate while Nolus falls by three positions.
The main point of this checkpoint remains the difference between the two calculation methods.
Without rewards, Bitcoin is third.
With rewards included, ATOM keeps its podium position.
After 196 days of racing, staking and node yields do not offset major price declines, but they are beginning to affect final performance and, in some cases, the ranking itself.
