BTC vs ETH vs SOL vs LTC: A Trader’s Guide to the Top Cryptos
Cut the noise. Focus on the coins that drive liquidity, structure, and opportunity.
🗺️ Crypto Roadmap — 2-hour charts of BTC, ETH, SOL, and LTC
Introduction
Crypto is a vast, noisy marketplace.
Thousands of coins, endless hype, and a constant churn of new narratives. Yet, four names consistently dominate trader flows and liquidity: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC).
To be clear: this is a high-level overview for traders.
We’re not getting into the weeds of blockchain code, mining hash rates, validator sets, or the intricacies of gas fees. If you think individual companies and their stocks can be complicated and nuanced, then crypto can feel like opening up a whole other dimension of complexity.
Blockchain consensus, cryptographic proofs, network throughput — the jargon alone could make you want to slam your laptop shut.
And that’s fine because you don’t need a PhD in cryptography to trade the majors.
What you do need is a working knowledge of the key players, their roles in the ecosystem, and how they tend to trade.
That’s what we’re covering here.
How to use this guide
Skim the coin you trade most
Add your weekly chart commentary under each section
If you prefer traditional brokerage exposure, use the ETF proxies at the end
Now let’s turn to the majors — starting with Bitcoin — and look at how each one trades, why it matters, and what setups tend to emerge.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin is digital gold.
It’s slow, capped at 21 million coins, and widely seen as a store of value. For traders, BTC is the macro swing vehicle — it moves in line with risk sentiment and respects long-term technical levels, such as pivots, ranges, moving averages, and Anchored VWAPs, better than most assets.
Since the 2022 bottom, it has developed a repetitive pattern of swift moves, followed by long consolidations, that eventually give way to more swift moves. As this cycle has aged, notice that the magnitude of the rises and the length of the consolidations have decreased.
This week, Bitcoin is back to the top of this relatively brief (so far) sideways range. If it breaks higher, there’s a good chance the pattern continues.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the programmable backbone of crypto. It powers DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs. For traders, ETH is a go-to for event-driven setups. Network upgrades and surges in on-chain activity repeatedly create structured opportunities. Liquidity is deep, which makes ETH easy to size.
After a parabolic rise of more than +250% in just 19 weeks, Ethereum has spent some time building a potential bull flag pattern. The previous all-time high (4867) is still the line to gain.
There is no price history or potential resistance above that level. There is an extension near 7332, as a potential target.
Solana (SOL)
Solana is the new kid on the block(chain) with a need for speed.
High throughput and low fees have made it a hub for consumer-facing Web3 apps. For traders, SOL is a high-beta momentum coin: powerful surges, fast reversals, big intraday and multi-week opportunities when structure and volume align.
This weekly chart shows the complete trading history, including the rapid rise to $260, shortly after the coin emerged onto the trading scene. That level has been tested several times, but none have endured, so far.
Litecoin (LTC)
“Silver to Bitcoin’s gold.”
Faster and often a testbed for BTC upgrades. For traders, LTC acts as a high-beta version of BTC, and at times paints a cleaner technical picture when BTC is noisy.
It’s been testing a trendline many times over the last 10 months or so. And we have to remember that the more times a level is tested, the more likely it is to eventually give way.
With price staying more firmly above the ATH AVWAP, a breakout looks imminent. But then again, it has appeared that way for quite a while now.
ETF Proxies: Trade the Theme Without the Coins
Don’t have a Coinbase account?
Don’t even know what a digital wallet is?
What about ‘cold storage?’
No worries.
Not everyone wants to open a new account, manage wallets, or keep track of more security keys. ETFs and ETPs let you trade crypto exposure in a traditional account.
These are some of the more popular options — with some very important notes.
Bitcoin:
IBIT (iShares Bitcoin Trust) — spot BTC exposure
BITO (ProShares Bitcoin ETF) — futures-based; expect roll costs
SBIT (ProShares UltraShort Bitcoin ETF) — futures-based
BITX (Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF) — leveraged futures; short-term trading only
Ethereum:
ETHA (iShares Ethereum Trust ETF) — spot ETH exposure
ETHE (Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF) — converted trust
ETHU (Volatility Shares 2x Ether ETF) — Canada-listed; availability may vary for U.S. traders
ETHT (ProShares Ultra Ether) — 2× leveraged futures; short-term trading only
Solana:
SOLZ (Volatility Shares Solana ETF) — 1× futures-based SOL exposure
SOLT (Volatility Shares 2× Solana ETF) — leveraged; treat as short-term vehicle
Litecoin:
No major U.S.-listed spot/futures ETFs. Access via spot or futures markets.
⚠️ Important
Leveraged ETFs suffer from compounding and decay — treat as intraday to short-swing tools
Futures-based ETFs can deviate from spot due to roll structure
Decision rule: For clean exposure, prefer spot ETFs (IBIT, ETHA). For short-term momentum or leverage, use futures-based or leveraged products (BITO, BITX, ETHT, SOLT) with tight risk and a short holding period.
Trading Takeaways
BTC: Macro swing driver; AVWAP memory defines reaction zones
ETH: Event drift and post-event fades; deep liquidity for sizing
SOL: High-beta momentum; respect reversal speed
LTC: Cleaner read when BTC is noisy; high-beta BTC proxy
Conclusion
As traders, we don’t need every coin on the board.
The majors — BTC, ETH, SOL, and LTC — offer all the volatility and liquidity required.
They span the spectrum:
Bitcoin’s macro stability, Litecoin’s silver role, Ethereum’s programmable backbone, and Solana’s speed and innovation. Together, they form the core toolkit for crypto trading strategies.
Whether you trade them directly or through ETFs like IBIT, ETHA, SOLT, etc., these four coins cover the ground you need.
The key is to keep it simple.
Don’t fall victim to overwhelm or analysis paralysis. Focus on the majors, know their tendencies, and let them do the heavy lifting.
At Trading Adventures, I help traders cut through noise and focus on process-driven opportunities across equities, futures, and crypto. If you want clear weekly setups and market insights, subscribe here to my free market updates.
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The Disclosures
***This is NOT financial advice. This is NOT a recommendation to buy, sell, or trade any security. The content presented here is intended for educational purposes only.
