Bitcoin correlation: which coins go their own way
A number from −1 to +1 showing how closely a coin repeats bitcoin's moves. It answers whether you are trading that coin or the same BTC under a different ticker.
Most of the crypto market follows bitcoin. Which means ten «different» positions are often one and the same bet: BTC turns and everything falls. Correlation shows where that link is tight and where it barely exists.
How to read the number
- Near +1 — the coin repeats bitcoin almost word for word. There is little point in it separately: the same move is available in BTC itself, with deeper liquidity and a tighter spread.
- 0.5–0.8 — the usual state of large altcoins: same direction, own amplitude.
- Near zero — the coin lives its own life. These matter most when the market stalls: while BTC ranges, they may have a move of their own.
- Below zero — rare and usually brief: more often the result of its own news than a stable property.
Why it belongs to risk, not entries
Correlation matters most not when picking an entry but when counting risk. Five positions correlated at 0.9 are not five one-percent trades — they are a single five-percent trade, and you find that out at the moment the market goes against you.
What it is computed on
We take hourly returns over a day: not prices themselves but their changes. Comparing prices directly would show a false link between any two rising charts; changes capture co-movement rather than a shared trend.
Coins moving independently of bitcoin
| Coin | Value | Details |
|---|---|---|
| ACE | 0.00 | $814.9M |
| GUN | 0.00 | $5.1M |
| HYPER | -0.01 | $15.3M |
| VELVET | 0.01 | $12.4M |
| OPG | -0.01 | $8.3M |
| MAVIA | 0.01 | $7.5M |
| SXT | -0.01 | $6.3M |
| ZAMA | 0.02 | $35.4M |
Correlation of hourly returns over a day, for coins with turnover above five million dollars. The closer to zero, the less the coin repeats BTC.
Frequently asked questions
Does correlation change?
Constantly. In a calm market links weaken; in a panic they rush towards one and everything falls together. That is why the number is computed over a rolling day rather than fixed once.
Is low correlation good?
It is neither good nor bad, it is a property. Useful for diversification, unhelpful if you are trading the market's common trend.
Why do some coins have no correlation value?
Not enough history — a full day of hourly candles is required. Stocks, commodities and currency pairs also get a bitcoin correlation; there it usually sits near zero.