Old School RuneScape Coal Outperforms Ethereum in Yearly Growth
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Data from Arkham reveals that Old School RuneScape's in-game coal has beaten Ethereum in yearly growth, driven by a surge in player numbers and continuous crafting demand.
In a twist that highlights the bizarre nature of digital economies, virtual black gold has managed to beat real world crypto. According to data spotted by the digital currency tracking platform Arkham and reported by Eurogamer, Old School RuneScape coal actually outperformed Ethereum in yearly growth between May 2025 and May 2026. While Ethereum saw a respectable price increase of roughly 31 percent, OSRS coal surged by over 42 percent during the same timeframe. The comparison utilizes tracking metrics from Coin Market Cap alongside the Old School RuneScape wiki grand exchange tracker.
For anyone who spends time in Gielinor, the surging value of coal makes complete sense. Coal is the backbone of the smithing grind for nearly every metal tier above iron, and player demand remains perpetually high, especially with the popularity of the blast furnace mini-game. Furthermore, Old School RuneScape has been enjoying a massive resurgence in player numbers lately, nearly breaching its all-time peak player count following the launch of its latest limited time Leagues game mode. More active players simply means more demand for basic crafting resources.
Of course, treating virtual ores as an investment portfolio comes with some obvious caveats. While players can theoretically pump funds into the game by purchasing official bonds to sell for in-game gold, cashing that gold back out into real world currency violates the game terms of service. On the other hand, crypto comes with its own notorious market volatility and the constant existential dread of losing your hardware wallet encryption keys. At least if your RuneScape coal investment goes sideways, you can always smelt it into a slick new platebody.
Tags: Old School RuneScape, MMO, Cryptocurrency, Jagex, Gaming Economy
Original article: Eurogamer