Merlin Chain (MERL): price, market cap and how it did against Bitcoin
Bottom line
Merlin Chain (MERL) closed at $0.02892 on 4 November 2026, with a market capitalisation of $40.9M (rank 521) on 5 November 2026. On 30 October 2026 it was above its 200-day average of $0.0249, which is rising. Over 90 days it is 47 percentage points ahead of Bitcoin. Layer 2 as a theme is +22.4% against Bitcoin over 13 weeks.
Price
$0.02892
as of 2026-11-04
Market cap
$40.9M
snapshot 2026-11-05
vs Bitcoin · 90d
+47 pts
as of 2026-10-30
30-day median volume
$3.8M
as of 2026-10-30
What it is · from the data we hold
What is Merlin Chain (MERL)?
Merlin Chain (MERL) is a crypto token that CoinGecko lists under smart contract platform, layer 2 (L2) and bitcoin sidechains. We place it in the Layer 2 theme, with 45 coins. Its highest daily close since 19 April 2024 was $1.17 on 20 April 2024; its lowest was $0.01671 on 13 July 2026.
01 · the tape, against its benchmark
How has Merlin Chain moved against Bitcoin?
Merlin Chain is -91.5% over one year, +70.3% over 90 days and -6.3% over 30 days. Annualised 30-day volatility is 76%. Its deepest fall from a high inside the last 90 days is 22%. It trades above its 200-day average, which is rising.
MERL · rebasedBitcoinLayer 2 · equal weight
All three lines rebased to 100 at the first week each has data. Bitcoin is the opportunity-cost benchmark for crypto risk; the theme line is its equal-weight index of current rated members.
02 · returns, volatility and drawdown
What do Merlin Chain's returns and risk look like?
7 days+7.8%
30 days-6.3%
90 days+70%
180 days-24%
1 year-91%
30-day volatility76% annualised
Deepest 90-day fall22%
200-day average$0.0249 · above · rising
50-day average$0.0278
03 · what the protocol actually earns
Does Merlin Chain generate fees or revenue?
Merlin Chain publishes 1 of the six network-economics series this site tracks: total value locked. Total value locked at the latest complete quarter is $445.7M. Network activity is evidence about the protocol, not earnings owed to the token. Readings run to the Q3 2026 quarter.
Fees, last 30 days$1.9K
Fees, last 90 days$5.5K
Active addresses a day, 30-day average98
Transactions, last 30 days25,432
Source: DefiLlama, daily figures summed to 2026-10-30. Fees are what users paid; revenue is the part the protocol keeps. Active addresses and transactions are for the Merlin Chain network itself. Fees here are the network fees paid to use Merlin Chain.
Total value locked11 of 20 quarters
Latest quarter$445.7M-40%
Total value locked
Complete calendar quarters only. A blank quarter is unavailable, not zero. Network activity is evidence about the protocol, not earnings owed to the token.
04 · exact additive research priority
What does the evidence say about Merlin Chain?
Merlin Chain scores 66.2 out of 100 inside Layer 2, ranked 3 of 34 rated coins on 55% evidence. The four displayed point contributions add exactly to the total; missing evidence pulls only the affected factor toward neutral and lowers its stated coverage. It ranks research attention within one theme, never portfolio action, and it is not comparable across themes.
What it means: Mostly a price reading: less than half of this score rests on the network's own use (fees, users, deposits), so it says little about the project itself yet.
31.7/35Price leadership
vs Bitcoin (90 days): +47 pts · vs its theme (30 days): +10.6 pts · above its 200-day average
100% evidence
14.6/30Usage growth
Fees — · revenue — · users —
17% evidence
10.0/20Value capture
Fee yield — · revenue yield —
0% evidence
9.9/15Liquidity & risk
Typical daily trading: $3.8M · price swings: 76% a year
100% evidence
This weakens if: The read weakens if 90-day strength against Bitcoin falls below zero with two weekly closes below the 200-day average, or native activity contracts for two complete calendar quarters.
No valuation section exists on this page, for any coin. There is no company-style P/E or PEG for a token, and historical market capitalisation is not held at all, only a dated current snapshot, so no ten-year valuation band can be built honestly. Where a protocol publishes fees or revenue, the yield against that dated snapshot is shown above instead.
05 · the theme it competes in
How does Merlin Chain compare with other Layer 2 coins?
Merlin Chain is one of 45 Layer 2 coins here, 34 of which carry enough evidence to be rated and ranked. Merlin Chain ranks 3 of those 34 on 55% evidence. The table below is the theme's own scorecard, in its own order, with this coin marked.
The Layer 2 scorecard in its own order, with this coin marked. Scores are within-theme and are not comparable with coins in another theme. See the full Layer 2 page.
Which crypto lists is Merlin Chain on?
Merlin Chain is on one of our crypto lists: Altcoins. Every coin we track is in the full ranking on Cryptocurrencies by market cap. List membership comes from CoinGecko's categories and market-cap rank, never from a hand-picked list.
Next to it by size · every coin with a page
Which coins are closest to Merlin Chain in market cap?
Merlin Chain is number 304 by market cap among the 604 coins with a page on this site. The 4 just larger and the 4 just smaller are listed here, each with its theme, so the comparison crosses themes. Market cap is the snapshot dated 2026-11-05.
This page names 5 ways its own evidence about Merlin Chain can mislead, all listed below. The largest is that crypto network activity is not company earnings: protocol revenue does not automatically accrue to token holders. Price runs through 2026-11-04; market capitalisation is a separate snapshot dated 2026-11-05.
Crypto network activity is not company earnings. Protocol revenue does not automatically accrue to token holders.
Market capitalisation is a dated snapshot, not a point-in-time historical supply series, so yields computed against it inherit that lag.
No valuation band exists for any coin: historical market capitalisation is not held at all.
Funding rates, open interest, liquidations, exchange flows, unlock schedules and developer activity are not held and are not inferred.
The research score is relative to this coin's own theme only. It is not comparable across themes and is not an entry signal.
Price and technicalsPrice through 2026-11-04; moving averages and returns through 2026-10-30, from exchange closes; moving averages are computed, never scraped.
Protocol activityThrough 2026-10-30, for the series this token publishes.
Market capSnapshot dated 2026-11-05; no historical supply series is implied.
Decision useResearch priority within one theme. Not entry, exit, sizing or leverage instructions.
Questions the page should answer directly
Crypto analysis FAQs
These 9 answers cover the questions this page can settle from data it holds: what the category is, how the score is built, what the coverage gaps are, and what would change the read. Every answer below is also present in the page’s FAQ schema and in its plain-text rendition. None of them is a recommendation.
What is Merlin Chain (MERL)?
Merlin Chain (MERL) is a crypto token that CoinGecko lists under smart contract platform, layer 2 (L2) and bitcoin sidechains. We place it in the Layer 2 theme, with 45 coins. Its highest daily close since 19 April 2024 was $1.17 on 20 April 2024; its lowest was $0.01671 on 13 July 2026.
What is the market cap of Merlin Chain?
Merlin Chain's market capitalisation is $40.9M, ranking it 521 in the top-1,000 crypto universe, read on 5 November 2026. It is refreshed separately from the daily price.
Is Merlin Chain beating Bitcoin?
Over 90 days Merlin Chain is 47 percentage points ahead of Bitcoin: its own return minus Bitcoin's. Its theme, Layer 2, is +22.4% against Bitcoin over 13 weeks. Merlin Chain trades above its 200-day average as of 4 November 2026.
What is Merlin Chain's highest price?
The highest daily close we hold for Merlin Chain is $1.17, on 20 April 2024, in records from 19 April 2024. The lowest is $0.01671, on 13 July 2026. The close on 4 November 2026, $0.02892, is 98% below that high.
Does Merlin Chain have a P/E ratio?
No. There is no company-style P/E or PEG for a crypto token, and no valuation band is shown on this page because the data to build one honestly does not exist: historical market capitalisation is not held, only a current snapshot. Where a protocol publishes fees or revenue, this page shows the yield against that dated snapshot instead.
What is Merlin Chain's research score?
66.2/100 within Layer 2, ranked 3 of 34 rated Layer 2 coins, on 55% evidence: 31.7 + 14.6 + 10.0 + 9.9 = 66.2. It is labelled “Thinly traded”. The score ranks research attention inside one theme, never portfolio action.
How much Merlin Chain history does this page show?
Five years of weekly closes where they exist, plus 20 complete calendar quarters of on-chain activity for the metrics Merlin Chain actually publishes. Here that is total value locked.
How much did Merlin Chain earn in the last 30 days?
In the 30 days to 30 October 2026, DefiLlama shows $1.9K of fees for Merlin Chain. Over 90 days: $5.5K of fees. Fees are what users paid; revenue is the part the protocol keeps.
Does Merlin Chain generate total value locked?
Merlin Chain's latest quarter total value locked is $445.7M, down 39.8% on the year-earlier period. Network activity is not token-holder earnings: whether it accrues to the token depends on the protocol's own burn, buyback and distribution rules.