Polkadot vs Cardano (DOT vs ADA) 2026: Crypto Returns, Risk & Volatility

Q: Which is a better investment: DOT or ADA?

Over the past year, ADA looks like the better investment: it had higher total return (ADA -65.5% vs DOT -71.0%) and a higher Sharpe ratio (ADA -1.01 vs DOT -1.02). On risk, ADA was less volatile (ADA 78.8% vs DOT 88.4%), ADA had a smaller max drawdown (ADA -75.4% vs DOT -78.0%), and ADA had less severe losses on the worst 5% of days (Expected Shortfall of ADA -8.80% vs DOT -9.70%).

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Quick answer

Which is a better investment: DOT or ADA?

Over the past year, ADA outperformed DOT. ADA returned -65.5% compared with DOT’s -71.0%. ADA had the better risk-adjusted return, with a Sharpe ratio of -1.01 versus DOT’s -1.02. ADA was less volatile than DOT, and ADA had a smaller max drawdown than DOT.

Total Return

DOT -71.0%

ADA -65.5%

Sharpe Ratio

DOT -1.02

ADA -1.01

Annualized Volatility

DOT 88.4%

ADA 78.8%

Max Drawdown

DOT -78.0%

ADA -75.4%

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

DOT Total Return

↓ -71.0%

ADA Total Return

↓ -65.5%

Relative Performance of DOT vs ADA (Normalized to 100)

DOT ADA

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

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Key Takeaways

Total Return: DOT delivered a -71.0% total return, while ADA returned -65.5% over the same period. ADA outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): Both Sharpe ratios were negative (ADA -1.01 vs DOT -1.02), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; ADA was less negative.
Volatility (Annualized): DOT was more volatile, with 88.4% annualized volatility, versus 78.8% for ADA.
Maximum Drawdown: ADA's maximum drawdown was -75.4%, while DOT experienced a deeper drawdown of -78.0%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), DOT's VaR was -6.47% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -9.70%; ADA's were -6.26% and -8.80%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: DOT 0.30 vs ADA -0.16. Excess kurtosis: DOT 9.82 vs ADA 3.48. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): DOT 6/11, ADA 6/13. Worst day: DOT -26.16% (2025-10-10) vs ADA -21.66% (2025-10-10). Best day: DOT +33.22% (2026-02-24) vs ADA +15.82% (2026-02-24).
Risk ratios: Sortino - DOT: -1.52 vs. ADA: -1.43 , Calmar - DOT: -0.91 vs. ADA: -0.87 , Sterling - DOT: -0.96 vs. ADA: -1.57 , Treynor - DOT: -0.44 vs. ADA: -0.39 , Ulcer Index - DOT: 49.78% vs. ADA: 46.85%

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on April 24, 2025:

DOT $2,902.61 -71.0%

ADA $3,445.33 -65.5%

Difference: $542.72 (ADA ahead)

Polkadot vs Cardano Performance Over Time

Metric	DOT	ADA
30 Days	-9%	-8%
90 Days	-35.9%	-30.8%
180 Days	-60%	-62%
1 Year	-71%	-65.5%

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

Polkadot vs Cardano Correlation

Average Correlation

strongly correlated

0.89

Current (30-day) 0.74

30-day rolling range +0.64 to +0.98

Polkadot and Cardano are strongly correlated over the past year. With a correlation of 0.89, these assets tend to move together, limiting diversification benefits.

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

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.74
Average (full period)	0.89
Minimum (30-day rolling)	0.64
Maximum (30-day rolling)	0.98

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

DOT

-78.0%

ADA

-75.4%

Polkadot experienced its maximum drawdown of -78% from 2025-05-10 to 2026-04-13. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Cardano experienced its maximum drawdown of -75.4% from 2025-08-17 to 2026-03-28. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

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

Polkadot vs Cardano Volatility (DOT vs ADA)

DOT Volatility

88.4%

±4.63% 1-day vol

ADA Volatility

78.8%

±4.13% 1-day vol

1-day volatility (1σ)

DOT

±4.63%

ADA

±4.13%

Polkadot's 88.4% annualized volatility translates to about ±4.63% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

Cardano's 78.8% annualized volatility translates to about ±4.13% one-standard-deviation daily volatility.

DOT had the wider volatility profile over this window. That means its day-to-day return distribution was broader; ADA 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 DOT and ADA

Sharpe Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

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 (ADA -1.01 vs DOT -1.02), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; ADA 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 DOT and ADA

Sortino Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

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). ADA 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: DOT 59.0% vs ADA 55.9%. 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 DOT and ADA

Calmar Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

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. ADA 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 DOT and ADA

Sterling Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

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%). DOT 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 DOT and ADA

Treynor Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

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. ADA 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 DOT and ADA

Ulcer Index: DOT vs. ADA

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. ADA 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): Polkadot vs. Cardano

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: DOT vs. ADA (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)	DOT	ADA
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.47%	-6.26%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-9.70% (worst 19 days)	-8.80% (worst 19 days)
Skew	0.30	-0.16
Excess kurtosis	9.82	3.48
2σ tail days (down / up)	6 / 11	6 / 13
Worst day	-26.16% (2025-10-10)	-21.66% (2025-10-10)
Best day	+33.22% (2026-02-24)	+15.82% (2026-02-24)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Computed on shared dates only (n=364). 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: DOT vs. ADA (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 DOT and ADA 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 DOT and ADA had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	DOT	ADA
2025-07-23	-9.42%	-9.62%
2025-10-10	-26.16%	-21.66%
2025-11-03	-13.48%	-9.35%
2026-01-30	-10.16%	-10.79%
2026-02-04	-12.20%	-12.01%

Days when DOT had a big down day

Date (interval)	DOT	ADA
2025-07-23	-9.42%	-9.62%
2025-08-25	-9.13%	-7.91%
2025-10-10	-26.16%	-21.66%
2025-11-03	-13.48%	-9.35%
2026-01-30	-10.16%	-10.79%
2026-02-04	-12.20%	-12.01%

Days when ADA had a big down day

Date (interval)	DOT	ADA
2025-07-23	-9.42%	-9.62%
2025-08-19	-5.03%	-8.51%
2025-10-10	-26.16%	-21.66%
2025-11-03	-13.48%	-9.35%
2026-01-30	-10.16%	-10.79%
2026-02-04	-12.20%	-12.01%

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 Polkadot vs. Cardano (1-Year)

Metric	DOT	ADA
Total Return	-71.0%	-65.5%
Annualized Volatility	88.4%	78.8%
Sharpe Ratio	-1.02	-1.01
Sortino Ratio	-1.52	-1.43
Calmar Ratio	-0.91	-0.87
Sterling Ratio	-0.96	-1.57
Treynor Ratio	-0.44	-0.39
Ulcer Index	49.78%	46.85%
Max Drawdown	-78.0%	-75.4%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	0.36	0.40
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.47%	-6.26%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-9.70%	-8.80%
Skew	0.30	-0.16
Excess kurtosis	9.82	3.48
2σ tail days (down / up)	6 / 11	6 / 13

Audit this calculation

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

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-04-24 → 2026-04-23 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): 335 rolling 30-day values (from 364 shared daily returns).
Annualization (days/year): DOT: 365 days/year; ADA: 365 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

DOT: 4.17% over 2025-04-24 → 2026-04-23.

ADA: 4.17% over 2025-04-24 → 2026-04-23.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

DOT: ≈ -39.1%/yr

ADA: ≈ -31.0%/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.

Polkadot vs Cardano: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: DOT or ADA?

DOT showed higher volatility at 88.4% annualized, compared to 78.8% for ADA Over the past year. Higher volatility means larger price swings in both directions.

Does DOT provide diversification when held with ADA?

DOT and ADA are strongly correlated over the past year, with an average correlation of 0.89. This strong correlation limits diversification benefits.

How bad are the worst 5% days for DOT vs ADA?

Over the past year, DOT's 5% VaR was -6.47% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -9.70% (worst 19 days). ADA's were -6.26% and -8.80% (worst 19 days).

Do DOT and ADA crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=364), when ADA has a 2σ down day, DOT also does 83.3% (5/6 days). In the other direction, when DOT has one, ADA also does 83.3% (5/6 days).

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: DOT or ADA?

Both assets posted negative Sharpe ratios Over the past year (ADA -1.01 vs DOT -1.02), meaning both underperformed the risk-free rate; ADA was less negative.

Can DOT and ADA be combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing matters. Their strong correlation provides limited risk reduction since they tend to move together. DOT's higher volatility (88.4%) means even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.

Explore our financial glossary

Which is a better investment: DOT or ADA?

Share This Comparison of DOT vs ADA

Relative Performance of DOT vs ADA (Normalized to 100)

Trade DOT or ADA

Key Takeaways

Investment Comparison

Polkadot vs Cardano Performance Over Time

Polkadot vs Cardano Correlation

Drawdown

Polkadot vs Cardano Volatility (DOT vs ADA)

Risk-adjusted ratios

Sharpe Ratio of DOT and ADA

Sharpe Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

Sortino Ratio of DOT and ADA

Sortino Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

Calmar Ratio of DOT and ADA

Calmar Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

Sterling Ratio of DOT and ADA

Sterling Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

Treynor Ratio of DOT and ADA

Treynor Ratio: DOT vs. ADA

Ulcer Index of DOT and ADA

Ulcer Index: DOT vs. ADA

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): Polkadot vs. Cardano

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape: DOT vs. ADA (1-Year)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Downside co-move map: DOT vs. ADA (2σ)

Days when both DOT and ADA had a big down day (2σ)

Days when DOT had a big down day

Days when ADA had a big down day

Full Comparison of Polkadot vs. Cardano (1-Year)

Inputs & conventions

Formulas

Polkadot vs Cardano: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: DOT or ADA?

Does DOT provide diversification when held with ADA?

How bad are the worst 5% days for DOT vs ADA?

Do DOT and ADA crash together on bad days?

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: DOT or ADA?

Can DOT and ADA be combined in a portfolio?