Markets Update: Massive Gains Year-to-Date Across Crypto-Markets

Bitcoin’s price increased thanks to demand and technicals in the second half of 2016. Bitcoin has increased 7 percent throughout its final week of the year and currently trades at $962. Altcoins have not traded as strong heading into the end of the year, but numerous enjoyed an impressive year. 

Also Read: With Bitcoin’s Rise the Altcoin Index Suffers

Altcoins 2016

Monero, whose market capitalization year-to-date has increased nearly 3,400 percent (a trend largely started in September), is finishing the year nicely, as well. It’s increased more than 19 percent since December 27.

Monero’s priced currently at $12.67. As the 5th highest market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap, Monero benefits from its consensus algorithm. Very similar to bitcoin, proponents say Monero offers anonymity where bitcoin fails. Though, as we’ve covered in our recent piece about Tumblebit, there are innovations being considered to bolster bitcoin’s privacy features.

Ethereum, the second most traded blockchain after Bitcoin, ends the year with more than a 900% gain, despite a second half marred by poor press and development concerns.

Litecoin, which has experienced low sentiment as late, posted a 42 percent gain in 2016. The fourth largest cryptocurrency plans to implement segwit as a soft fork in the coming months, and has traded sideways in the last week of 2016.

XRP, the digital token of Ripple, gained 15.5% in 2016. The platform received $55 million in Series B funding this past autumn after blockchain consortium’s such as R3CEV experimented with the ledger. 

Ripple has sent out numerous e-mails in December suggesting that, in 2017, the company would better highlight it’s token, XRP.

Starting December 29, Ethereum Classic, the “original chain” version of the Ethereum blockchain that has not been in existence at the beginning of the year, increased more than 37%, but remains well south of all-time highs.

Zcash, the eighteenth largest altcoin, enjoyed a lot of press throughout the final quarter of 2016. Proponents hailed it as a solution to problems facing the Bitcoin network currently.

Zcash has increased more than 2,000 percent since it started to trade in late October.

This Year’s Top Ten CryptoCurrencies

The year-end top ten altcoin rankings wind up looking as such:

Bitcoin 2016

Despite formidable performances by multiple altcoins, the story in crypto for 2016 is bitcoin’s continued existence and price performance amid increasing emerging market demand, as well as its formidable technicals.

In its report on the best and worst performing assets in 2016, Bloomberg included bitcoin as the year’s best performing currency.

However, some consider Bitcoin to be more of a commodity than a currency. According to Bloomberg, 2016’s best performing commodity was crude, with more than a 45 percent gain. If bitcoin had been considered a commodity, it would have been the best performing commodity in 2016, as well, having surged about 120 percent.

What was your favorite cryptocurrency in 2016? Do you think altcoins will compete or complement the bitcoin network? Let us know your opinions in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Coinmarketcap.com, and Pixabay. 

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