Hedera vs Ripple (HBAR vs XRP) 2026: Crypto Returns, Risk & Volatility

Q: Which is a better investment: HBAR or XRP?

Over the past year, XRP looks like the better investment: it had higher total return (XRP -44.4% vs HBAR -56.7%) and a higher Sharpe ratio (XRP -0.55 vs HBAR -0.70). On risk, XRP was less volatile (XRP 68.6% vs HBAR 80.8%), XRP had a smaller max drawdown (XRP -65.6% vs HBAR -73.1%), and XRP had less severe losses on the worst 5% of days (Expected Shortfall of XRP -7.89% vs HBAR -8.70%).

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Quick answer

Which is a better investment: HBAR or XRP?

Over the past year, XRP outperformed HBAR. XRP returned -44.4% compared with HBAR’s -56.7%. XRP had the better risk-adjusted return, with a Sharpe ratio of -0.55 versus HBAR’s -0.70. XRP was less volatile than HBAR, and XRP had a smaller max drawdown than HBAR.

Total Return

HBAR -56.7%

XRP -44.4%

Sharpe Ratio

HBAR -0.70

XRP -0.55

Annualized Volatility

HBAR 80.8%

XRP 68.6%

Max Drawdown

HBAR -73.1%

XRP -65.6%

Metric winners: Total Return: XRP; Sharpe Ratio: XRP; Annualized Volatility: XRP (less volatile); Max Drawdown: XRP (smaller drawdown).

HBAR Total Return

↓ -56.7%

XRP Total Return

↓ -44.4%

Relative Performance of HBAR vs XRP (Normalized to 100)

HBAR XRP

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

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Key Takeaways

Total Return: HBAR delivered a -56.7% total return, while XRP returned -44.4% over the same period. XRP outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): Both Sharpe ratios were negative (XRP -0.55 vs HBAR -0.70), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; XRP was less negative.
Volatility (Annualized): HBAR was more volatile, with 80.8% annualized volatility, versus 68.6% for XRP.
Maximum Drawdown: XRP's maximum drawdown was -65.6%, while HBAR experienced a deeper drawdown of -73.1%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), HBAR's VaR was -6.15% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -8.70%; XRP's were -5.19% and -7.89%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: HBAR 0.24 vs XRP -0.05. Excess kurtosis: HBAR 5.25 vs XRP 6.68. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): HBAR 4/10, XRP 4/9. Worst day: HBAR -21.79% (2025-10-10) vs XRP -19.10% (2026-02-04). Best day: HBAR +21.98% (2025-07-13) vs XRP +21.36% (2026-02-05).
Risk ratios: Sortino - HBAR: -1.04 vs. XRP: -0.80 , Calmar - HBAR: -0.78 vs. XRP: -0.66 , Sterling - HBAR: -1.46 vs. XRP: -1.09 , Treynor - HBAR: -0.27 vs. XRP: -0.23 , Ulcer Index - HBAR: 48.17% vs. XRP: 40.15%

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on May 13, 2025:

HBAR $4,326.13 -56.7%

XRP $5,562.05 -44.4%

Difference: $1,235.92 (XRP ahead)

Hedera vs Ripple Performance Over Time

Metric	HBAR	XRP
30 Days	9.7%	8.4%
90 Days	5.1%	5%
180 Days	-46%	-39.6%
1 Year	-56.7%	-44.4%

Shorter time frames can show different leaders as market conditions change. Consider your investment horizon when comparing performance.

Hedera vs Ripple Correlation

Average Correlation

strongly correlated

0.86

Current (30-day) 0.89

30-day rolling range +0.68 to +0.96

Hedera and Ripple are strongly correlated over the past year. With a correlation of 0.86, these assets tend to move together, limiting diversification benefits.

For portfolio construction, this strong correlation means holding both HBAR and XRP provides limited risk reduction — they're likely to decline together in downturns.

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.89
Average (full period)	0.86
Minimum (30-day rolling)	0.68
Maximum (30-day rolling)	0.96

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together. Values near +1 indicate strong co-movement, near 0 indicates independence, and negative values indicate inverse movement. Current, minimum, and maximum figures are 30-day rolling correlations on shared daily returns.

Drawdown

Maximum Drawdown

HBAR

-73.1%

XRP

-65.6%

Hedera experienced its maximum drawdown of -73.1% from 2025-07-27 to 2026-02-04. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Ripple experienced its maximum drawdown of -65.6% from 2025-07-21 to 2026-02-04. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Smaller drawdowns and faster recoveries indicate lower downside risk and greater resilience during market stress.

Hedera vs Ripple Volatility (HBAR vs XRP)

HBAR Volatility

80.8%

±4.23% 1-day vol

XRP Volatility

68.6%

±3.59% 1-day vol

1-day volatility (1σ)

HBAR

±4.23%

XRP

±3.59%

Hedera's 80.8% annualized volatility translates to about ±4.23% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

Ripple's 68.6% annualized volatility translates to about ±3.59% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

HBAR had the wider volatility profile over this window. That means its day-to-day return distribution was broader; XRP was calmer, but lower volatility does not by itself mean better returns.

Treat the ± daily figure as a one-standard-deviation estimate from historical returns, not a forecast or expected absolute daily move. For context, 15-18% annualized volatility is roughly ±1% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

Risk-adjusted ratios

Sharpe Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sharpe Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Return per total volatility

Sharpe gives us excess return per unit of risk. Upside and downside volatility both count as risk.

Higher is better

excess return / total volatility

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sharpe} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_R}

Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk (volatility). A higher Sharpe indicates better risk-adjusted performance. Both Sharpe ratios were negative (XRP -0.55 vs HBAR -0.70), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; XRP was less negative.

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).

Sortino Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sortino Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Return per downside volatility

Sortino keeps the return-over-risk idea, but only returns below the target rate count as volatility.

Higher is better

excess return / downside volatility

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sortino} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\sigma_{\mathrm{down}}}

Sortino ratio measures return per unit of downside risk. Unlike Sharpe, it only counts downside deviation (returns below the target return). XRP had better downside-adjusted returns.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Downside deviation: HBAR 54.2% vs XRP 47.3%. 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).

Calmar Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Calmar Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

CAGR per worst drawdown

Calmar compares CAGR against the single deepest peak-to-trough loss over the period.

Higher is better

CAGR / max drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Calmar} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR}}{|\mathrm{MaxDD}|}

Calmar ratio compares CAGR to maximum drawdown. Higher Calmar means more return per unit of worst drawdown. XRP posted the higher Calmar ratio.

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

Sterling Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sterling Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Return per average drawdown

Sterling smooths the drawdown penalty by using average drawdown events instead of only the worst one.

Higher is better

excess annual return / average deep drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Sterling} = \frac{\mathrm{CAGR} - R_f}{\overline{D}_{>10\%}}

Sterling ratio measures excess return per unit of average drawdown (typically drawdowns worse than 10%). XRP posted the higher Sterling ratio.

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

Treynor Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Treynor Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Excess return per market beta

Treynor divides excess annualized return by beta — the sensitivity of the asset to broad-market moves. The slope shown is each asset’s beta vs SPY.

Higher is better

excess return / market beta

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{Treynor} = \frac{\mathbb{E}[R] - R_f}{\beta}

Treynor ratio measures excess return per unit of market risk (beta) instead of total volatility. XRP posted the higher Treynor ratio.

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

Ulcer Index of HBAR and XRP

Ulcer Index: HBAR vs. XRP

Drawdown pain

Ulcer Index is a risk index, not a return-over-risk ratio. Lower means smaller and shorter drawdowns.

Lower is better

root-mean-square drawdown

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{UI} = \sqrt{\mathbb{E}[D_t^2]}

Ulcer Index captures drawdown depth and duration. Lower Ulcer Index means less drawdown pain. XRP had the lower Ulcer Index (less drawdown pain).

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

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Hedera vs. Ripple

This section looks at the shape of daily returns, not just the average. Tail stats are computed per asset on its own daily series (crypto includes weekends). We use daily log returns $\ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)$ so multi-day moves add cleanly.

Definitions: Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall, skew, kurtosis, and fat tails.

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape: HBAR vs. XRP (1-Year)

Actual daily return tails

The bars are real daily log-return observations from the article window. Darker bars are observations at or beyond each asset’s 5% VaR cutoff.

Observed returns

VaR marks the 5th percentile loss cutoff; Expected Shortfall averages the observations beyond that cutoff.

Formula

\displaystyle \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%}=Q_{0.05}(r_t),\quad \mathrm{ES}_{5\%}=\mathbb{E}[r_t\mid r_t\le \mathrm{VaR}_{5\%}]

Metric (1-Year)	HBAR	XRP
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.15%	-5.19%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-8.70% (worst 19 days)	-7.89% (worst 19 days)
Skew	0.24	-0.05
Excess kurtosis	5.25	6.68
2σ tail days (down / up)	4 / 10	4 / 9
Worst day	-21.79% (2025-10-10)	-19.10% (2026-02-04)
Best day	+21.98% (2025-07-13)	+21.36% (2026-02-05)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Computed on shared dates only (n=363). A “2σ downside move” means a shared-close log return more than 2 standard deviations below that asset’s own mean on this shared-date series. Dates below show simple returns (%) for readability.

Downside co-move map: HBAR vs. XRP (2σ)

Shared-close daily returns

Dots mark actual downside days: asset-colored dots are one-sided downside moves, and red dots are joint downside days. Grey dots add sampled shared-return context when available. The shaded lower-left zone shows where both HBAR and XRP crossed their own 2σ downside threshold.

2σ

Show downside tail dates

Dates below are shared-date observations. The “Date” is the period end (close). Tail thresholds are computed on log returns, but the table shows simple returns (%) for readability. Returns are computed from the previous shared close to this one (for example, Friday → Monday includes weekend moves).

Days when both HBAR and XRP had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	HBAR	XRP
2025-07-23	-10.84%	-10.50%
2025-10-10	-21.79%	-15.02%
2025-11-03	-10.03%	-8.71%
2026-02-04	-11.91%	-19.10%

Days when HBAR had a big down day

Date (interval)	HBAR	XRP
2025-07-23	-10.84%	-10.50%
2025-10-10	-21.79%	-15.02%
2025-11-03	-10.03%	-8.71%
2026-02-04	-11.91%	-19.10%

Days when XRP had a big down day

Date (interval)	HBAR	XRP
2025-07-23	-10.84%	-10.50%
2025-10-10	-21.79%	-15.02%
2025-11-03	-10.03%	-8.71%
2026-02-04	-11.91%	-19.10%

Read this as “how ugly the ugly days get”, not as a precise forecast. One-year samples are small, so tail estimates are inherently noisy.

Full Comparison of Hedera vs. Ripple (1-Year)

Metric	HBAR	XRP
Total Return	-56.7%	-44.4%
Annualized Volatility	80.8%	68.6%
Sharpe Ratio	-0.70	-0.55
Sortino Ratio	-1.04	-0.80
Calmar Ratio	-0.78	-0.66
Sterling Ratio	-1.46	-1.09
Treynor Ratio	-0.27	-0.23
Ulcer Index	48.17%	40.15%
Max Drawdown	-73.1%	-65.6%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	0.40	0.37
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.15%	-5.19%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-8.70%	-7.89%
Skew	0.24	-0.05
Excess kurtosis	5.25	6.68
2σ tail days (down / up)	4 / 10	4 / 9

Audit this calculation

Formulas, inputs, and conventions used to compute the metrics on this page.

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-05-13 → 2026-05-11 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): 334 rolling 30-day values (from 363 shared daily returns).
Annualization (days/year): HBAR: 365 days/year; XRP: 365 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

HBAR: 4.15% over 2025-05-13 → 2026-05-11.

XRP: 4.15% over 2025-05-13 → 2026-05-12.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

HBAR: ≈ -32.6%/yr

XRP: ≈ -23.5%/yr
Data alignment: No forward fill. Correlation and tail co-moves are computed on shared closes only.
For cross-calendar pairs (e.g., crypto vs stocks), weekend/holiday moves roll into the next shared close.
Return conventions: Volatility/Sharpe/Sortino use simple daily returns. Tail-risk uses daily log returns for distribution stats (but tables show simple returns). Log returns.

Formulas

Daily simple return

r_t = \frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} - 1

Volatility

\sigma_{ann} = \sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}

Volatility drag (approx.)

\text{drag} \approx \tfrac{1}{2}\sigma_{ann}^2

Sharpe Ratio

S = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}}

Sortino Ratio

So = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sqrt{\mathbb{E}[\min(0,\,r_t - r_f/A)^2]}\,\sqrt{A}}

Maximum Drawdown

MDD = \min_t\left(\frac{P_t}{\max_{s \le t} P_s} - 1\right)

Average Correlation

\rho = \frac{\operatorname{cov}(r^A,\,r^B)}{\sigma_A\,\sigma_B}

Log returns

\ell_t = \ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)

Notation

$P_t$: Price on day t.
$r_t$: Simple daily return.
$\ell_t$: Log daily return.
$\bar{r}$: Average daily return.
$\sigma(r_t)$: Standard deviation of daily returns.
$A$: Annualization factor (days/year).
$r_f$: Annual risk-free rate.

Hedera vs Ripple: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: HBAR or XRP?

HBAR showed higher volatility at 80.8% annualized, compared to 68.6% for XRP Over the past year. Higher volatility means larger price swings in both directions.

Does HBAR provide diversification when held with XRP?

HBAR and XRP are strongly correlated over the past year, with an average correlation of 0.86. This strong correlation limits diversification benefits.

How bad are the worst 5% days for HBAR vs XRP?

Over the past year, HBAR's 5% VaR was -6.15% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -8.70% (worst 19 days). XRP's were -5.19% and -7.89% (worst 19 days).

Do HBAR and XRP crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=363), when XRP has a 2σ down day, HBAR also does 100.0% (4/4 days). In the other direction, when HBAR has one, XRP also does 100.0% (4/4 days).

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: HBAR or XRP?

Both assets posted negative Sharpe ratios Over the past year (XRP -0.55 vs HBAR -0.70), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; XRP was less negative.

Can HBAR and XRP be combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing matters. Their strong correlation provides limited risk reduction since they tend to move together. HBAR's higher volatility (80.8%) means even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.

Explore our financial glossary

Which is a better investment: HBAR or XRP?

Share This Comparison of HBAR vs XRP

Relative Performance of HBAR vs XRP (Normalized to 100)

Trade HBAR or XRP

Key Takeaways

Investment Comparison

Hedera vs Ripple Performance Over Time

Hedera vs Ripple Correlation

Drawdown

Hedera vs Ripple Volatility (HBAR vs XRP)

Risk-adjusted ratios

Sharpe Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sharpe Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Sortino Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sortino Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Calmar Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Calmar Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Sterling Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Sterling Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Treynor Ratio of HBAR and XRP

Treynor Ratio: HBAR vs. XRP

Ulcer Index of HBAR and XRP

Ulcer Index: HBAR vs. XRP

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Hedera vs. Ripple

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape: HBAR vs. XRP (1-Year)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Downside co-move map: HBAR vs. XRP (2σ)

Days when both HBAR and XRP had a big down day (2σ)

Days when HBAR had a big down day

Days when XRP had a big down day

Full Comparison of Hedera vs. Ripple (1-Year)

Inputs & conventions

Formulas

Hedera vs Ripple: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: HBAR or XRP?

Does HBAR provide diversification when held with XRP?

How bad are the worst 5% days for HBAR vs XRP?

Do HBAR and XRP crash together on bad days?

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: HBAR or XRP?

Can HBAR and XRP be combined in a portfolio?