Bitcoin Trails Record as Meme Coins Lag

Crypto assets remain well below their peaks while U.S. stock indexes sit only modestly off their highs, according to a comparison by Charlie Bilello.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Investing

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Bitcoin sits 39% below its all-time high, while meme coins trail their records by as much as 99%. The S&P 500 trails its record by 3%, according to a ranking of assets by distance from all-time highs compiled by Charlie Bilello.

Why it matters

The gap between crypto assets and U.S. equities highlights how differently speculative digital assets have performed since their peaks. For investors weighing risk across portfolios, the divergence shows how sharply prices in these markets can move from record levels.

The ranking compares each asset's current price with its all-time high, showing Bitcoin 39% below its peak and the S&P 500 3% below its record. Whether the gaps will narrow or widen over coming months is not addressed in the source data.

The players

Charlie Bilello

Chief market strategist at wealth manager Creative Planning, known for publishing market data and historical performance comparisons.

Creative Planning

A U.S. wealth management firm that provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individual and institutional clients.

The details

Charlie Bilello, chief market strategist at wealth manager Creative Planning, ranked 19 assets and benchmarks by their distance from all-time highs. Netflix had the deepest stock drawdown at 54%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average sat about 4% below its August peak.

Bitcoin reached its all-time peak on October 6, 2025.
The Trump and Melania meme coins launched around January 2025, near the presidential inauguration.
Google searches for Bitcoin hit a six-year low in mid-October.
The S&P 500 reached its record high on October 6.

Market Dynamics

The October 6, 2025 peak marks a clear dividing line, with Bitcoin and meme coins retreating sharply while the S&P 500 stayed near its record. The divergence places speculative digital assets well outside the broader equity trend that has held up through the same period.

For investors holding Bitcoin or meme coins, a 39% to 99% drop from peak means recovering those losses requires gains of 64% or more in Bitcoin's case. Investors with broad index funds face a far smaller gap, with the S&P 500 only 3% below its record.

The takeaway

Comparing an asset's distance from its all-time high can help investors gauge how much recovery a position would need. Reviewing those gaps alongside portfolio allocation may clarify how much downside exposure each holding carries.