Snapshot: September 26, 2026
After TAO returned to break-even and Nolus moved into positive territory last week, the Crypto Race has picked up speed. Twelve of the fourteen assets we track rose between the September 19 and September 26 snapshots. The gains were far from even, though: three Category 1 assets climbed more than 24% in seven days, while Nolus, the Category 2 leader, barely moved.
The difference between this week's pace and each asset's position in the race tells the story of this snapshot. Akash and TAO extend their lead over Bitcoin. AVAX records Category 1's strongest weekly rebound but remains below its January starting level. Flux climbs the Category 2 standings, yet is still well in the red for the year.
The rules have not changed: the race starts with the same theoretical $1,000 investment in each asset. The figures below compare the value of that investment on September 26, first without yield and then with estimated staking rewards or, in FLUX's case, node earnings. The weekly column measures the price move between the two most recent snapshots only.
Category 1: Akash and TAO pull ahead
| Rank | Asset | Since the start, without yield | With estimated yield | Weekly price change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AKT | +61.56% | +75.04% | +24.59% |
| 2 | TAO | +26.53% | +30.75% | +26.51% |
| 3 | BTC | −6.79% | −6.14% | +3.63% |
| 4 | ALGO | −8.79% | −4.99% | +18.73% |
| 5 | ETH | −14.10% | −12.20% | +2.75% |
| 6 | ATOM | −16.85% | −7.25% | +4.00% |
| 7 | AVAX | −23.43% | −20.59% | +29.30% |
| 8 | OSMO | −28.45% | −25.90% | +3.57% |
Akash accelerates again. AKT gained 24.59% in a week, bringing its return since January to +61.56% without yield, up from +29.68% at the previous snapshot. Including estimated rewards, the result reaches +75.04%. On price alone, the theoretical initial $1,000 is now worth about $1,616. AKT's lead over TAO exceeds 35 percentage points without yield.
TAO confirms its comeback. A week earlier, it was virtually at break-even, with a +0.02% return since January. This week's 26.51% rise lifts its cumulative return to +26.53% without yield, or about $1,265 for the theoretical initial investment. Going from break-even to a gain of more than 26% in a single snapshot also shows how quickly positions can change. AKT and TAO remain the only Category 1 assets ahead of Bitcoin on price alone.
Yet AVAX posts the category's strongest weekly rebound: +29.30%. Its cumulative loss narrows from −40.79% to −23.43%. That is a substantial move, but the theoretical $1,000 position is still worth about $766 without yield. Its January starting level remains some distance away.
ALGO rises 18.73% and moves closer to BTC. On price alone, just two percentage points now separate them: −8.79% for ALGO versus −6.79% for Bitcoin. Estimated yield reverses their order: ALGO stands at −4.99%, compared with −6.14% for BTC. This is a useful example of how yield can matter in a close race, even though it does not erase ALGO's price loss.
The other weekly moves are more modest. BTC gains 3.63%, ATOM 4.00%, OSMO 3.57% and ETH 2.75%. Bitcoin reduces its loss since January from −10.05% to −6.79%, but its weekly rise is small beside those of AKT, TAO and ALGO.
Estimated yield also changes the middle of the table. ATOM ranks sixth on price alone at −16.85%, but improves to −7.25% with theoretical rewards, putting it ahead of ETH on that basis. It still trails BTC, whose return with estimated yield is −6.14%. The two views answer different questions: what the price did, and what yield would have added under the series' fixed assumptions.
Category 2: Flux climbs back, Nolus holds the lead
| Rank | Asset | Since the start, without yield | With estimated yield | Weekly price change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NLS | +3.67% | +6.74% | +0.17% |
| 2 | GNO | −15.10% | −11.95% | −2.62% |
| 3 | FLUX | −34.52% | −24.80% | +24.11% |
| 4 | BAND | −36.11% | −26.09% | +11.74% |
| 5 | CTK | −49.39% | −35.64% | +9.19% |
| 6 | LAVA | −90.72% | −90.45% | −0.15% |
Nolus remains the only Category 2 asset in positive territory since the start. NLS barely changes this week (+0.17%), but retains first place at +3.67% without yield and +6.74% with estimated yield. Its position owes more to its progress since January than to a fresh surge this week. GNO, its closest pursuer, falls 2.62%, widening the gap between them to nearly 19 percentage points on price.
Flux makes the category's standout move, gaining 24.11% this week. Its loss since January narrows from −47.24% to −34.52% on price. Including theoretical node earnings, it stands at −24.80%. FLUX moves back ahead of BAND in both views of the standings, although the lead is still narrow: about 1.6 percentage points on price and 1.3 points with estimated yield.
BAND also rises, gaining 11.74% this week, but loses third place. CTK climbs 9.19% and remains close to −50% since the start without yield. Both gains improve the cumulative results without changing the leaders.
LAVA is nearly flat for the week (−0.15%), but remains far behind at −90.72% since January. At the snapshot price, a theoretical initial $1,000 would be worth about $93. A nearly flat week at this level is not yet a recovery: the gap to the starting point remains enormous.
The race to beat Bitcoin
With three months left in the year, AKT and TAO are ahead of BTC both with and without estimated yield. ALGO joins them when theoretical rewards are included. Bitcoin itself is moving, however: its loss since January narrowed this week. Getting ahead of it at the next snapshot and holding that lead through December 31 are two different steps.
The rebounds in AVAX and FLUX are significant, but their cumulative returns show that one strong week does not immediately reset the scoreboard. Conversely, Nolus needs only a small weekly gain to keep its Category 2 lead. One week's result and the outcome of the race so far do not always tell the same story.
The September 26 snapshot brings fresh momentum to the Crypto Race. The question guiding the series since January remains: which assets in the Snow-Fall ecosystem will actually finish the year ahead of Bitcoin?
Methodology: weekly snapshots from January 3 to September 26, 2026, based on a theoretical initial investment of $1,000 per asset. Indicative yields are calculated using the fixed annual rates adopted for this series, compounded daily; they do not represent rewards actually received. FLUX yield refers to node earnings. The final column shows price changes between September 19 and September 26. This article is not investment advice.
