Old School RuneScape coal has outperformed one of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies
Old School RuneScape’s in-game coal has outperformed Ethereum—one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies—in terms of year-over-year value growth between May 2025 and May 2026. The comparison was highlighted by Arkham, a digital currency trading platform, using price data from CoinMarketCap for Ethereum and the Old School RuneScape Grand Exchange tracker to measure the value of the in-game resource.
This unusual comparison demonstrates the intersection between virtual economies and cryptocurrency markets. While Ethereum remains vastly larger in market capitalization and real-world adoption, the specific metric of percentage growth over the measured period shows OSRS coal outpacing the cryptocurrency. The Grand Exchange, OSRS’s player-driven marketplace, operates as a fully functioning economy where players trade resources and items, creating measurable value trends comparable to traditional financial markets.
The comparison highlights the depth and economic activity of OSRS’s ecosystem, which has sustained a dedicated player base for over a decade. Old School RuneScape, a re-release of the 2007 version that launched in 2013, maintains vibrant in-game markets where trading behaviors and player demand create real price movements. The fact that a virtual commodity could outperform a major cryptocurrency in growth terms underscores the scale and activity of the game’s economy.