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Crypto in May: average return and history by year

May has been a positive month for crypto on average: across the 18 largest coins, the typical coin in the average May since 2019 returned +0.8%, and the market closed May higher in 4 of 8 years. Pick the coins you care about to see the year-by-year record, or hover any bar and cell for the detail.

What stands out

  • May ranks 8th of the 12 months by average return (+0.8%). That is in the middle of the pack.
  • One year carries a lot of this: take out May 2019 and the average falls from +0.8% to −6.1%.
  • Bitcoin alone closed May higher in 4 of 8 years, averaging +3.9%; its best was 2019 (+61%) and its worst 2021 (−35%).
  • The spread between years is wide: May 2019 was the best year (the median coin returned +49%) and May 2021 the worst (−30%).
  • TRON has done best in May (median +7.7%, up in 4 of 6 years) and Bitcoin Cash worst (median −15%, up in 2 of 6).
  • May is known as “Sell in May”: a weak May and a quiet summer after it. In our data the typical coin was down in 4 of 8 years, so the nickname has not held up.

Counted from 8 years of daily closes (121 coin-months). The coins move together, so each year is one observation, not one per coin: too few to call a pattern.

May year by year

Each bar is one year: the median coin among those chosen below, so one runaway coin cannot set the figure. Change the coins and everything on this page recalculates.

Typical May
+0.8%

average of the years; median year +1.6%

Years up
4 of 8

50% of years

Best year
+49%

2019

Worst year
−30%

2021

May, year by year (median of 18 coins)

Each bar is the median coin that year; the dashed line averages the years. Hover or tap a bar for every coin behind it.

-20%0%20%40%+49%2019+9.6%2020−30%2021−29%2022−7.8%2023+11%2024+5.1%2025−1.9%2026average +0.8%
BTC+61+9.6−35−15−6.9+11+11−3.5+3.9%4/8
ETH+66+12−2.4−29+0.2+25+41−11+13%5/8
BNB+49+0.8−43−15−9.1+2.6+9.7+15+1.3%5/8
XRP+42−4.2−35−28+9.8+3.4−0.8−2.6−1.9%3/8
SOL––−23−46−8.5+31+6.0−0.8−7.0%2/6
TRX––−42+35+12−6.2+7.8+7.6+2.4%4/6
ZEC––−34−18−14+26+39+62+10%3/6
DOGE–+5.2−3.5−33−9.9+19+12−5.7−2.2%3/7
LINK+116+12−16−31−7.8+40−2.3+0.4+14%4/8
ADA+27+56+28−17−5.4+1.3+0.6−4.3+11%5/8
XLM+33+4.4−24−11−2.0−1.3−2.5+64+7.6%3/8
NEAR––−40−42−19+17−1.7+79−1.1%2/6
BCH––−29−26−3.8+4.8+13−31−12%2/6
LTC––−31−29+2.5+4.7+4.2−5.7−8.9%3/6
UNI––––−7.7+41+15−5.1+11%2/4
AVAX––−45−54−17+10−0.6−1.2−18%1/6
HBAR–+24−22−33−19+6.7−8.1+11−5.9%3/7
SHIB–––−42−15+14−3.2−11−11%1/5
Median coin+49+9.6−30−29−7.8+11+5.1−1.9+0.8%4/8
Coins up7/78/91/161/174/1816/1811/187/1845%–

Percent. In order of market cap; select a column heading to sort by it.

History, not a forecast. May has 8 years of data behind it, from a few big bull and bear runs. Coins move together, so a year is one observation however many coins you select.

How May compares with the other months

All coins, the same method for every month. Select a month for its own page.

January+11%4/8+7.2%1
February+4.1%4/8+7.7%6
March+5.3%5/8+7.2%5
April+3.3%5/8+7.3%7
May+0.8%4/8+3.9%8
June−12%0/8−4.1%12
July+9.7%6/8+8.3%2
August−0.4%4/8−0.5%10
September+0.4%4/8−1.0%9
October+6.2%5/7+17%4
November+7.0%3/7+4.4%3
December−9.3%1/7+3.7%11

In calendar order. Select a column heading to sort by it.

Questions

Is May a good month for crypto?
Across the 8 years in our data, the typical (median) coin among the largest returned +0.8% in May in the average year, and the market closed higher in 4 of them. That makes May the 8th strongest of the 12 months. With only 8 years of data behind it, treat it as a record of what happened, not a forecast.
Is May a good month for Bitcoin?
Bitcoin closed May higher in 4 of 8 years in our data, with an average return of +3.9% and a median of +3.1%. Its best May was 2019 (+61%) and its worst 2021 (−35%).
What was the best May for crypto?
May 2019, when the median coin returned +49% (7 of 7 coins up). The worst was May 2021, when the median coin returned −30%.
Which crypto does best in May?
Of the 18 coins with enough Mays in our data, TRON has the highest median May (+7.7%) and Bitcoin Cash the lowest (−15%). A coin's record in one month is a handful of observations, so a ranking this short can reorder in a single year.
Does the May nickname hold up in the data?
May is known as “Sell in May”: a weak May and a quiet summer after it. In our data the typical coin was down in 4 of 8 years, so the nickname has not held up.
Can I time my purchases by the month?
Not reliably. Each calendar month has at most 8 years of data behind it, from a few market cycles, and a pattern that held in those years has often vanished in the next. Prices to October 6, 2026. If you buy on a schedule instead, the DCA calculator shows what that would have returned.
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Disclaimer: This page is educational and does not constitute financial advice. It describes past price moves from daily closes on Binance and leaves out fees, taxes and staking rewards. Past performance does not predict future results. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile; never invest more than you can afford to lose.