Bitcoin (BTC) may be down less from its all-time highs than any other cryptocurrency, but 2020 has so far been the year of Chainlink (LINK).

In the latest edition of its Weekly Insights report on Oct. 26, The TIE noted that Chainlink has outperformed every other cryptocurrency with year-to-date returns of over 600%.

Bitcoin down least vs. all-time highs

Comparing altcoin performance, the report also highlighted Cardano (ADA) with 224% returns, Ether (ETH) on 217% and Monero (XMR) on 182%.

The numbers provide a timely counterpoint for cryptocurrency spectators as attention remains broadly focused on Bitcoin and its recent gains, which topped out at $13,370 over the weekend.

Enthusiasm around a rerun of the so-called “altseasons” from previous years has also waned, with Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe warning that Ether may not be set to copy Bitcoin’s successes this time around.

Zooming out, Bitcoin remains the cryptocurrency down the least versus its historic all-time highs, at press time circling 36% against its $20,000 peak from late 2017.

By contrast, Chainlink is down 41%, Ether 73% and Cardano 92%. The worst performers out of the major market cap tokens are Ripple (XRP) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), both down 94%.

“Among the major cryptocurrencies, Binance Coin, Bitcoin and Chainlink are closest to their all-time high prices. While the median asset is down -79% from its ATH, BTC is down -36%,” The TIE summarized.

“That means that Bitcoin’s price would need to increase by +55% (roughly $7,000) to reach its ATH price. It has been almost 3 years since BTC was at $20,000.”

Major cryptocurrency 2020 returns comparison. Source: The TIE

“Where’d all the LINK Marines go?”

The TIE meanwhile noted that despite its 2020 rally, Chainlink is noticeably absent from social media.

“Like many assets, Chainlink recently set it’s all time high during the summer’s altcoin craze and has fallen a considerable amount since then. This has caused LINK related conversations on Twitter to decrease by -60%,” the report stated.

“This decrease in conversations has continued on, despite the fact that LINK has rebounded 70% from its low. So, this brings me to my question of where’d all the LINK marines go?”

Google search data for Bitcoin meanwhile has trended slightly up over the course of recent price rises, but remains lower than in August when it returned to $12,000.