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Crypto · 24/7 market

Ethereum (ETH)

Smart contract platform with native yield and BTC-correlated beta.

Gale Finance Team
Written by Gale Finance Team
Sid Kalla
Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder
Quick Answer

What is Ethereum's risk, return, and volatility like?

Ethereum returned +33.5% over the 1Y window. On the 5Y lens, Sharpe ratio is 0.32, annualized volatility is 75.8%, and max drawdown is -79.4%.

Total Return
1Y +33.5%
5Y -0.6%
Sharpe Ratio
1Y 0.70
5Y 0.32
Annualized Volatility
1Y 71.7%
5Y 75.8%
Max Drawdown
1Y -61.5%
5Y -79.4%

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Price history

Ethereum price over the past 5Y

Track Ethereum's standalone price path with macro and asset-specific events enabled by default.

Ethereum price over the past 5Y

ETH
Latest close $2,350 Data through 2026-04-22
5Y low $993.64 Window low
5Y high $4,829 Window high

Key takeaways

  • Total Return: ETH returned +33.5% over the 1Y window and -0.6% over the 5Y window ; annualized return over 5Y was -0.1%.
  • Risk-adjusted return: Sharpe was 0.32 and Sortino was 0.47 over 5Y. Sharpe counts total volatility; Sortino focuses on downside volatility.
  • Volatility & drawdown: Annualized volatility was 71.7% over 1Y and 75.8% over 5Y ; max drawdown was -61.5% over 1Y and -79.4% over 5Y .
  • Tail risk (Expected Shortfall): Over 5Y, daily VaR (5%) was -6.3% and Expected Shortfall was -9.4%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move inside the worst 5% of daily returns.
  • Skew & kurtosis: Over 5Y, skew was -0.26 and excess kurtosis was 5.28. Skew shows return asymmetry; excess kurtosis shows how fat the tails were versus a Normal distribution.
  • Risk ratios: Sortino Ratio: 0.47 , Calmar Ratio: 0.00 , Sterling Ratio: -0.07 , Treynor Ratio: 0.22 , Ulcer Index: 49.29% .

Ethereum Drawdown

ETH 1Y Max Drawdown
-61.5%
2025-08-22 to 2026-02-23
ETH 5Y Max Drawdown
-79.4%
2021-11-08 to 2022-06-18

Max drawdown shows the deepest peak-to-trough decline Ethereum suffered in each research window. 1Y: -61.5%; 5Y: -79.4%.

Ethereum is currently -51.3% below its prior peak, with the high-water mark at $4,829. 5Y low is $993.64.

ETH underwater plot (5Y). Zero means at a prior peak; dips show how far below peak the close was on each day. Deepest trough: -79.4% on Jun 18, 2022.
-79.4% 2021-04-23 2026-04-22 0% -79%

5Y drawdown episodes

#1
-79.4% Nov 8, 2021 to Jun 18, 2022
Recovered Aug 22, 2025 1383 total days
#2
-61.5% Aug 22, 2025 to Feb 23, 2026
Not yet recovered 243 total days
#3
-57.1% May 11, 2021 to Jul 20, 2021
Recovered Oct 23, 2021 165 total days

Ethereum Volatility

ETH 1Y Volatility
71.7%
Annualized daily closes
ETH 5Y Volatility
75.8%
Annualized daily closes

Volatility Ethereum's annualized volatility shows how widely daily closes moved over 1Y and 5Y. Higher values mean a noisier path, not automatically a better or worse investment. 1Y: 71.7%; 5Y: 75.8%.

Benchmark context

Where ETH fits relative to other lenses

Benchmark links are secondary on this page. Use them when you want to place the asset against a specific market, factor, or historical counterpart.

Default benchmark

Bitcoin

BTC

Cross-asset crypto benchmark

1Y return
-16.6%
ETH minus BTC
+47.6%
Correlation
0.84
1Y
ETH vs BTC average correlation
Tightly linked
0.84
SOL

Solana

Corr 0.88

Compare Solana as a benchmark

1Y return -43.1%
ETH minus SOL +74.1%

Risk-adjusted ratios

These ratios compare return against different definitions of risk: total volatility, downside volatility, drawdowns, benchmark beta, and time spent underwater.

Ethereum Sharpe Ratio

ETH 1Y Sharpe ratio
0.70
Recent window
ETH 5Y Sharpe ratio
0.32
Deeper research window

ETH Sharpe Ratio (5Y)

Return per total volatility

The dot sits at (Ethereum's annualized volatility, its excess annualized return). The slope from the origin to the dot is the Sharpe ratio — steeper means the asset converted risk into return more efficiently.

Higher is better
Excess return Annualized volatility 0 100% vol 75.8% · excess +24.4%
excess annualized return / total volatility
Formula Sharpe=E[R]RfσR\displaystyle \mathrm{Sharpe} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_R}

Sharpe ratio Ethereum's Sharpe ratio measures excess return per unit of total volatility. Higher readings mean the asset converted risk into return more efficiently over the same window. 1Y: 0.70; 5Y: 0.32.

A Sharpe above 1.0 is generally considered good, above 2.0 is excellent. Negative Sharpe means the asset underperformed the risk-free rate. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Ethereum Sortino Ratio

ETH 1Y Sortino ratio
1.09
Recent window
ETH 5Y Sortino ratio
0.47
Deeper research window

ETH Sortino Ratio (5Y)

Return per downside volatility

Ethereum's daily-return distribution over the long window. Days left of the target line are the only ones Sortino penalizes in the denominator — so a distribution with a fat left tail produces a smaller Sortino even at the same mean return.

Higher is better
Frequency (days) Daily return (%) target -29.3% +27.4% 468 0
excess annualized return / downside volatility
Formula Sortino=E[R]Rfσdown\displaystyle \mathrm{Sortino} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_{\mathrm{down}}}

Sortino ratio Ethereum's Sortino ratio isolates downside volatility instead of all volatility. It is the cleaner lens when you care more about bad downside moves than upside noise. 1Y: 1.09; 5Y: 0.47.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices, using the daily risk-free rate as the target return, and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Ethereum Calmar Ratio

ETH 1Y Calmar ratio
0.55
Recent window
ETH 5Y Calmar ratio
-0.00
Deeper research window

ETH Calmar Ratio (5Y)

CAGR per worst drawdown

Ethereum's CAGR bar sits above zero, the max drawdown bar sits below. Calmar is the ratio of those two magnitudes — a shallow drawdown bar with a tall CAGR bar produces a strong Calmar.

Higher is better
0% ETH 5Y -0.1% -79.3%
CAGR / max drawdown
Formula Calmar=CAGRMaxDD\displaystyle \mathrm{Calmar} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR}}{|\mathrm{MaxDD}|}

Calmar ratio Ethereum's Calmar ratio measures return per unit of max drawdown. It is useful when the path of losses matters as much as the final return. 1Y: 0.55; 5Y: -0.00.

Calmar is computed on each asset's full 365-day lookback and uses the max drawdown over that same window.

Ethereum Sterling Ratio

ETH 1Y Sterling ratio
1.08
Recent window
ETH 5Y Sterling ratio
-0.07
Deeper research window

ETH Sterling Ratio (5Y)

Return per average drawdown

The underwater curve shows Ethereum's drawdowns over the long window. Sterling averages every event deeper than the 10% threshold instead of taking only the worst one — so an asset with many mid-size drawdowns scores worse here than on Calmar.

Higher is better
0% -21% -42% -62% -83% 10% drawdown threshold
excess CAGR / average deep drawdown
Formula Sterling=CAGRRfD>10%\displaystyle \mathrm{Sterling} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR} - R_f}{\overline{D}_{>10\%}}

Sterling ratio Ethereum's Sterling ratio compares return against deep drawdown pressure. It gives a harsher read on assets that compound well but suffer ugly declines along the way. 1Y: 1.08; 5Y: -0.07.

Sterling uses average drawdown events deeper than 10% and subtracts the risk-free rate to report excess return.

Ethereum Ulcer Index

ETH 1Y Ulcer Index
32.97
Recent window
ETH 5Y Ulcer Index
49.29
Deeper research window

ETH Ulcer Index (5Y)

Drawdown pain

The underwater curve shows how deep and how long Ethereum's drawdowns were. Ulcer is the root-mean-square of that curve — both depth and persistence count, so lower is better.

Lower is better
0% -21% -42% -62% -83%
root-mean-square drawdown
Formula UI=E[Dt2]\displaystyle \mathrm{UI} = \sqrt{\mathbb{E}[D_t^2]}

Ulcer Index Ethereum's Ulcer Index measures both the depth and persistence of drawdowns. Lower is better because it means fewer and shallower underwater periods. 1Y: 32.97; 5Y: 49.29.

Ulcer Index is computed from each asset's drawdown series over the full lookback window.

Ethereum Treynor Ratio

ETH 1Y Treynor
0.36
Beta 1.40 vs BTC
ETH 5Y Treynor
0.22
Beta 1.12 vs BTC

ETH Treynor Ratio (5Y)

Excess return per beta vs BTC

The line's slope is Ethereum's beta to BTC — steeper means more market-sensitive. Treynor divides excess return by that slope, so an asset can look efficient with a shallow beta and a small return, or inefficient with a steep beta and a big return.

Higher is better
Asset return Market return 0 0 β 1.12
excess return / market beta
Formula Treynor=E[R]Rfβ\displaystyle \mathrm{Treynor} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\beta}

Treynor ratio measures excess return per unit of market beta versus BTC. A high Treynor means the asset compensated its market exposure well over this window. A low or negative Treynor means the asset's market risk wasn't rewarded.

Treynor uses beta vs the S&P 500 (SPY) on shared dates and the average 3-month Treasury rate as the risk-free rate.

Ethereum Tail Risk

Tail-risk stats use daily return distributions rather than simple end-point returns. They show how ugly the left tail has been, how severe the worst 5% of days were, and whether returns were skewed toward outsized upside or downside shocks.

The histogram shows the shape of Ethereum's daily log returns over the 5Y window. Bars left of the 5% VaR marker are the worst 5% of days; the ES marker is the average loss inside that tail. Skew and excess kurtosis describe whether the distribution is symmetric around zero and whether extreme days are more common than a Normal distribution predicts.

ETH daily return distribution (5Y)

ETH daily return distribution (5Y)

Log-return histogram with Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall markers at the 5% left tail.

Days
ETH 5Y VaR 5% ES 5% -36.6% 0% +36.6% Daily log return
worst-5% daily return and the average loss inside it
Formula VaR5%=Q0.05(R),ES5%=E[RRVaR5%]\displaystyle \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%} = Q_{0.05}(R),\quad \mathrm{ES}_{5\%} = \mathbb{E}[R \mid R \le \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%}]
Metric 1Y5Y
VaR (5%) -5.7% Historical daily threshold -6.3% Historical daily threshold
Expected shortfall (5%) -7.7% Beyond the VaR threshold -9.4% Beyond the VaR threshold
Skew 0.43 -0.26
Excess kurtosis 2.82 5.28

Less negative daily VaR and Expected Shortfall values mean the left tail was less violent. Skew and excess kurtosis help distinguish between steady compounding and a path dominated by occasional extreme moves.

Full stats table

Every window-consistent research metric

Each column keeps the same horizon across returns, ratios, drawdowns, and tail-risk metrics.

Metric
1Y Recent window
5Y Deeper research window
Total return
+33.5%
-0.6%
Annualized return
+33.6%
-0.1%
Volatility
71.7% Annualized daily closes
75.8% Annualized daily closes
Sharpe ratio
0.70
0.32
Sortino ratio
1.09
0.47
Calmar ratio
0.55
-0.00
Sterling ratio
1.08
-0.07
Ulcer Index
32.97
49.29
Max drawdown
-61.5% 2025-08-22 to 2026-02-23
-79.4% 2021-11-08 to 2022-06-18
VaR (5%)
-5.7% Historical daily threshold
-6.3% Historical daily threshold
Expected shortfall (5%)
-7.7% Beyond the VaR threshold
-9.4% Beyond the VaR threshold
Skew
0.43
-0.26
Excess kurtosis
2.82
5.28

What viewers usually ask next

What is Ethereum's 5Y CAGR?

Ethereum's 5y cagr is -0.1% on Gale using the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 1-year volatility?

Annualized volatility is 71.7% over the past year.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Sharpe ratio?

Ethereum's Sharpe ratio is 0.32 using the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Sortino ratio?

Ethereum's Sortino ratio is 0.47 using the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Calmar ratio?

Ethereum's Calmar ratio is -0.00 using the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Sterling ratio?

Ethereum's Sterling ratio is -0.07 using the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Ulcer Index?

Ethereum's Ulcer Index is 49.29 using the past 5 years. Lower is better because it means shallower and less persistent drawdowns.

What is Ethereum's 5-year max drawdown?

Max drawdown is -79.4% over the past 5 years from 2021-11-08 to 2022-06-18.

What is Ethereum's 5-year daily Value at Risk?

Using historical daily returns, Gale estimates a 5% Value at Risk of -6.27% over the past 5 years.

What is Ethereum's 5-year Expected Shortfall?

Expected Shortfall is -9.44% over the past 5 years, which captures the average outcome inside the worst 5% of daily returns.

Is Ethereum still below its all-time high?

Current drawdown is -51.3% versus the all-time high of $4,829 reached on 2025-08-22.

Which benchmark should viewers open first for Ethereum?

Bitcoin is the default benchmark lens on Gale because it gives the cleanest context for Ethereum's recent behavior.