Sometimes, one week is enough to change the shape of a race.
In Category 1, AKT still holds a very comfortable lead, but the front-runner has given back part of the ground gained during previous weeks. Behind it, BTC takes advantage of a positive week to overtake ALGO and OSMO and move back into fourth place.
In Category 2, the situation is much more brutal. NLS loses almost 44% in a single week and gives up first place to GNO. BAND also benefits from the shake-up and moves within striking distance of second place.
The Crypto Race 2026 therefore has not changed its overall leader, but the peloton is beginning to reorganize seriously.
Race reminder
The Crypto Race 2026 compares the performance of assets followed by Snow-Fall.io since the initial January 3, 2026 checkpoint.
Each participant starts with a theoretical investment of $1,000. The main rankings are calculated without including staking rewards or node income, allowing us to compare the direct price performance of each asset.
Rewards are then added separately to measure their real influence on the race.
Category 1: AKT remains alone at the front
AKT comfortably retains first place with a performance of +55.9% since the beginning of the year.
The theoretical $1,000 invested at the start of the race is still worth approximately $1,559 as of July 11.
However, the leader lost 5.1% over the week. Its advantage over BTC therefore fell from around 95 percentage points to less than 85 points.
That remains a considerable margin, but the movement shows that AKT is not completely insulated from broader market turbulence.
| Rank | Asset | 2026 performance | Weekly change | Value of $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AKT | +55.9% | −5.1% | $1,559 |
| 2 | TAO | −14.6% | −1.3% | $854 |
| 3 | ATOM | −26.5% | −1.0% | $735 |
| 4 | BTC | −28.9% | +2.5% | $711 |
| 5 | ALGO | −32.3% | −4.0% | $677 |
| 6 | OSMO | −32.6% | −5.3% | $674 |
| 7 | ETH | −42.7% | +2.1% | $573 |
| 8 | AVAX | −51.2% | −2.8% | $488 |
BTC gains two positions
BTC delivers one of the most interesting moves of the week.
With a weekly gain of 2.5%, the benchmark climbs from sixth to fourth place. It overtakes both ALGO and OSMO, which lost 4% and 5.3% respectively over the same period.
The recovery remains relative: BTC is still down 28.9% since the beginning of the race.
But in a ranking where most of the peloton continues to move lower, falling less quickly than the others can already be enough to gain several positions.
Bitcoin now sits only 2.4 percentage points behind ATOM. Another positive week could therefore allow it to reach the Category 1 podium.
TAO holds second place
TAO remains second with a cumulative performance of −14.6%.
The asset moved slightly lower this week but still maintains a significant advantage over ATOM, which is third at −26.5%.
TAO therefore remains the only competitor behind AKT to keep its annual loss below 15%. The gap to the leader is still substantial, however, with almost 70 percentage points separating the top two positions.
ATOM stays in third place, but its lead over BTC is becoming increasingly fragile.
The podium has not changed yet, but the battle for third place could quickly become one of the main stories of the coming weeks.
ALGO and OSMO under pressure
ALGO and OSMO both fall back in the rankings.
ALGO ends the week at −32.3% since January, while OSMO reaches −32.6%. Only 0.3 percentage points now separate the two assets.
For OSMO, the week was particularly difficult, with an additional decline of 5.3%. The asset, which still held a relatively strong position earlier in the race, has now dropped into the lower half of the ranking.
ALGO resisted slightly better but was unable to take advantage of OSMO’s weakness to stay ahead of BTC.
ETH rebounds but remains far behind
ETH gains 2.1% over the week, a performance almost comparable to BTC.
However, this rebound is not enough to change its position. With a cumulative loss of 42.7%, ETH remains seventh.
The asset still holds a comfortable lead over AVAX, which sits at the bottom of the category with a performance of −51.2%, but it remains more than ten percentage points behind OSMO and ALGO.
The rebound is real. Calling it a recovery would still be premature.
Category 2: the ranking is blown apart
Category 2 was already more unstable than Category 1. The July 11 checkpoint confirms it once again.
NLS, which had occupied first place for several weeks, falls from −14.5% to −51.9% since the beginning of the year.
Its recorded price in our tracking data dropped from $0.00306 to $0.00172 in one week, representing a decline of approximately 43.8%.
This is no longer a simple slowdown. It is a complete break in the race.
| Rank | Asset | 2026 performance | Weekly change | Value of $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GNO | −19.8% | +3.3% | $802 |
| 2 | NLS | −51.9% | −43.8% | $481 |
| 3 | BAND | −53.0% | +5.2% | $470 |
| 4 | FLUX | −57.9% | −3.4% | $421 |
| 5 | CTK | −60.7% | −4.4% | $393 |
| 6 | LAVA | −89.2% | −5.3% | $108 |
GNO takes back first place
GNO takes full advantage of the disruption.
With a weekly gain of 3.3%, the asset ends the checkpoint at −19.8% since January and returns to first place in the category.
Its provisional victory remains unusual: GNO is still below its starting price. It is simply the asset that has resisted best in a category where every participant is currently in negative territory.
The original $1,000 investment is still worth approximately $802.
That gives GNO a lead of more than 32 percentage points over NLS, even though the two assets were still relatively close only a few weeks ago.
BAND closes in on NLS
BAND records the best weekly performance in the category with a gain of 5.2%.
Thanks to this rebound, its annual performance improves to −53%. BAND is now only around 1.1 percentage points behind NLS.
In other words, despite what remains a very difficult year, BAND could take second place at the next checkpoint if NLS does not stabilize quickly.
What previously looked like a race between NLS and GNO is now much more open behind the new leader.
FLUX and CTK remain within reach
FLUX falls 3.4% over the week and now records a cumulative loss of 57.9%.
CTK ends at −60.7% following another weekly decline of 4.4%.
The two assets remain close, with only 2.8 percentage points separating them. They are also not completely detached from BAND and NLS.
A few positive weeks could therefore still change the order from second to fifth place.
LAVA, by contrast, remains far behind the rest of the group. With a cumulative loss of 89.2%, the original $1,000 investment is now worth only around $108.
Rewards limit the damage without changing the leader
Including rewards naturally improves the performance of several assets, but it does not change the Category 1 ranking.
AKT slightly increases its lead and reaches approximately +65% including accumulated rewards.
TAO improves to around −12.5%, while ATOM reduces its loss to approximately −20.6%. BTC remains fourth, ahead of ALGO and OSMO.
| Asset | Performance including rewards |
|---|---|
| AKT | +65.0% |
| TAO | −12.5% |
| ATOM | −20.6% |
| BTC | −28.6% |
| ALGO | −30.3% |
| OSMO | −30.9% |
| ETH | −41.8% |
| AVAX | −49.9% |
In the case of FLUX, we are specifically referring to node yield, not staking.
Depending on the node tier operated and the reward conditions observed, the annualized node yield is estimated at approximately 37% to 47%.
This is not enough to erase the decline in the price of FLUX, but it significantly reduces the effective loss for an operator who has accumulated rewards since the beginning of the year. Depending on the yield applied, FLUX can also move closer to BAND and outperform the current raw performance of NLS.
This is precisely why we continue to present both readings: price performance on one side and the result including protocol income on the other.
What to watch next
In Category 1, the main question will be whether AKT can stabilize its lead after two more difficult weeks.
BTC could now target the third place currently held by ATOM. Only 2.4 percentage points separate them.
The battle between ALGO and OSMO should also remain tight. The two assets are trading at almost the same performance level, although OSMO enters the next checkpoint with weaker weekly momentum.
In Category 2, all attention will be focused on NLS.
After a decline of almost 44% in one week, the key question is whether the move stabilizes or whether the pressure continues. BAND is already in position to take second place, while FLUX and CTK remain close enough to benefit from another major move.
Conclusion
AKT remains the undisputed yellow jersey of the Crypto Race 2026.
Behind it, however, the ranking is beginning to move.
BTC gains two positions and closes in on the podium. ATOM still holds third place, but its advantage is becoming fragile. ALGO and OSMO are now locked in an almost perfectly balanced battle.
In Category 2, the collapse of NLS completely reshuffles the standings. GNO takes back first place with a comfortable lead, BAND returns to the fight, and the gap between second and fifth place tightens significantly.
The week mainly serves as another reminder of a basic rule in crypto markets: a lead built over several months can disappear in only a few days.
The Crypto Race 2026 continues. And even though AKT is still riding far ahead, the rest of the peloton has just been hit by another major crosswind.
