Equal weight vs market cap in crypto
Two indexes can hold exactly the same crypto assets and still give very different results. The difference is weighting: how much of the index each asset represents. This page compares the two most common approaches, market-cap weighting and equal weighting, using two indexes built on identical members, the C100 and the C100-EW.
Two ways to weight the same basket
Market-cap weighting gives each asset a weight in proportion to its market capitalization. Larger assets count for more. It mirrors the market as it is, needs little trading to maintain, and is how most broad benchmarks are built. The C100 uses a capped version: Bitcoin and Ethereum at most 20% each, other assets at most 10%, and the assets above 4.5% together at most 48%.
Equal weighting gives every member the same weight. With 100 members, each starts each month at the same share, regardless of size. It treats the hundredth asset as seriously as the first.
The C100-EW holds exactly the same constituents as the C100, selected by the same rules, and resets to equal weights on the same monthly calendar. Only the weights differ, so any difference in results comes from weighting alone.
How the C100-EW is calculated
The C100-EW uses the same divisor method as the C100. At each monthly rebalance, every constituent is given the same target weight, which is turned into a number of units at that day's prices, and the divisor is reset so the level does not jump. Between rebalances the units stay fixed, so weights drift with prices exactly as they do in the C100.
Membership is shared: whenever the C100 adds or removes an asset at a quarterly reconstitution, the C100-EW does the same. A token migration or emergency removal is applied to both at the same time. The only rule the C100-EW does not apply is the caps, because equal weights never reach them.
The comparison
| Index or asset | Total return | Annual return | Volatility | Max drawdown | Sharpe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C100 | +685.24% | +35.19% | 72% | -80% | 0.79 |
| C100 Equal Weight | +126.10% | +12.68% | 80% | -91% | 0.56 |
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C100 | +202.94% | +338.73% | −72.76% | +104.43% | +76.57% | −32.82% | −10.58% |
| C100 Equal Weight | +105.81% | +586.76% | −80.50% | +97.62% | +24.03% | −61.39% | −13.34% |
Since January 6, 2020, the C100 has returned +685% (an annual rate of +35.2%) and the C100-EW +126% (an annual rate of +12.7%). The C100's annualized volatility has been 72% against 80% for the C100-EW, and its maximum drawdown −80% against −91%. C100 values before the live launch on November 1, 2026 are a backtest.
What drives the difference
Size exposure. An equal-weight index is a bet on the average asset; a market-cap index is a bet on the largest ones. In crypto, the largest assets have usually been more established and more liquid, while smaller assets have had wider swings in both directions and a higher rate of failure. When smaller assets as a group outperform, equal weighting leads; when the largest assets lead, market-cap weighting does.
Concentration. In the C100, the ten largest constituents make up 68% of the index. In the C100-EW, any ten constituents make up the same share as any other ten. The equal-weight index is therefore more diversified by count, but much more exposed to the small end of the market.
Rebalancing. Equal weighting needs more trading (how rebalancing works explains the mechanics). Each month, every asset that rose is trimmed back to the equal weight and every asset that fell is topped up. The capped market-cap index also rebalances, but most of its weights follow prices on their own, so it changes less.
Failures. A collapsing asset hurts an equal-weight index more, because it held a full equal share right up to the review. In a market-cap index, an asset that shrinks also shrinks its own weight as it falls.
None of these effects is good or bad in itself. They describe what each index measures. The same logic explains much of the gap between a broad index and a single asset, discussed on crypto index vs Bitcoin.
Calendar-year view
Year by year, the gap between the two approaches varies widely. The calendar-year table above shows each year's results for both indexes. Years where smaller assets rallied broadly show up as equal-weight leads; years where capital concentrated in the largest assets show the opposite.
When the two diverge most
The gap between the indexes widens in three kinds of market.
- Broad rallies. When money flows into smaller assets across the board, many members rise far more than the largest ones, and equal weighting captures more of it.
- Concentrated rallies. When the largest assets lead and the rest lag, the market-cap index captures more, because that is where most of its weight sits.
- Sharp sell-offs. Smaller assets often fall further in a crash, and an equal-weight index holds more of them, so its drawdowns tend to be deeper.
Comparing the monthly rows in the reports shows which of these each month resembled.
Which one is "the market"?
Market-cap weighting is the usual answer to "how did the market do?", because it reflects how the market's value is distributed. Equal weighting answers a different question: "how did the typical asset do?" The two together are more informative than either alone. When the C100 beats the C100-EW, the largest assets carried the market; when the C100-EW leads, gains were broad.
The monthly reports make this comparison every month, with a line on whether the larger constituents did better or worse than the average one.
Capped market cap: a middle path
Pure market-cap weighting in crypto would put most of the index into Bitcoin: at the latest C100 review, Bitcoin was 68% of the constituents' combined market value. Pure equal weighting gives a small token the same say as Bitcoin. The C100's capped approach sits between them: it keeps the market's order, but limits how much any one asset, and the group of largest assets together, can weigh. The exact rules are in the methodology.
On the latest data Bitcoin weighs 14.2% of the C100 and Ethereum 14.6%, and 8 assets had their target weight set by a cap rule at the latest review. In the C100-EW each constituent starts the month at the same weight as every other.
Other variants
The same data and rules also produce a narrower index and one without Bitcoin, which show related effects:
| Index | Design | Level | Since 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C100 | Flagship: 100 largest eligible crypto assets, modified market-cap weighted. | 7,761.88 | +676.19% |
| C25 | 25 largest eligible crypto assets, modified market-cap weighted. | 8,155.82 | +715.58% |
| C100 Equal Weight | Same constituents as C100, equally weighted. | 2,238.77 | +123.88% |
| C100 ex-BTC | C100 methodology with Bitcoin excluded. | 6,351.96 | +535.20% |
The C25 holds only the 25 largest eligible assets, so it sits closer to the largest names. The C100 ex-BTC shows how the rest of the top 100 behaved without its largest member.
Frequently asked questions
What is an equal-weight crypto index?
An index that gives every member the same weight, regardless of size. The C100-EW holds the same 100 constituents as the C100 and resets them to equal weights every month.
Is equal weight or market cap better for crypto?
Neither is better in general. Since January 6, 2020, the C100 has returned +685% and the C100-EW +126%, and the order has changed from year to year. Equal weight leans towards smaller assets and needs more rebalancing; market cap leans towards the largest assets.
How does weighting affect volatility?
Smaller crypto assets tend to swing more than the largest ones, and an equal-weight index gives them much more weight. Since the base date the C100-EW's annualized volatility has been 80%, against 72% for the C100.
Do the C100 and C100-EW hold the same assets?
Yes. Both use the same eligibility rules, the same buffer and the same review dates. Only the weights differ.
Where can I follow both indexes?
Both have live pages: the C100 and the C100-EW, with charts, constituents and statistics.
Informational index only. Not investment advice. Not an investable product. This page explains how indexes work and describes the C100's rules and published data; it is not a recommendation. Figures update from the index data; values before the launch date are backtested.