The Most Profitable Cryptocurrencies Though the First Half of 2019

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Since Bitcoin entered the collective consciousness on a massive scale in 2016, each year the cryptocurrency market has performed uniquely each year, sometimes in dramatic fashion.  Bitcoin’s meteoric rise from $930 to nearly $20,000 was definitely the story of 2017, in addition to the massive market capitalization numbers of the entire market. 2018 was the beginning of crypto winter that saw a monumental clawback of individual prices and market cap.

So what will be the overall story for 2019?  With 2 quarters posted in the books, much of the sideways trading activity has finally broken loose with some decent volatility along with a rise in the overall cryptocurrency market.  This means that overall the prices of a large number of crypto assets are significantly higher since the depths of crypto winter back in December of 2018. In this article we will take at look at some of the biggest winners so far in 2019.

Top 5 Cryptocurrency Gainers Since January 2019

The percentages detailed below are not typos and are mind-blowing numbers.  For some of these newer tokens these gains represent all time highs, while for the more established tokens on the list they may still have a ways to go to surpass their previous ATH.  In either case, these are success stories that showcase the short-term price movements north as well as the long-term belief and enthusiasm in viable cryptocurrency projects. 

Binance Coin (BNB)  521%

Market Cap:  $3,467,208,291

Recent trading price:  $22.29

Ranking #8 with a total market capitalization, BNB is a utility token created by the Binance Exchange that is primarily used by traders to receive discounts on trading fees on the platform.

Chainlink (LINK)  510%

Market Cap:  $629,320,278

Recent trading price:  $1.80

This is an Ethereum token that is used on the Chainlink decentralized Oracle network.   Primarily used in the execution of smart contracts to connect payment systems, API’s and other external data sources.   

Ravencoin (RVN)  379%

Market Cap:  $137,548,713

Recent trading price:  $0.031381

Ravencoin focuses exclusively on the transfer of assets peer-to-peer on a dedicated branch of the Bitcoin blockchain.  It is an open-source project that is very effective at processing instant payments.

Ignis (IGNIS)  357%

Market Cap:  $24,613,497

Recent trading price:  $0.032338

This coin works on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain network as opposed to the Proof-of-Work (PoW) network that powers Bitcoin.  Instead of miners, this network has validators. The IGNIS coin itself was initially distributed to holders of JLRDA and then in an ICO in 2017.

Litecoin (LTC) 345%

Market Cap:  $24,618,735

Recent trading price:  $0.032344

Known as the silver to the Bitcoin gold of cryptocurrencies, Litecoin was created in 2011.  Its primary benefit over BTC is the ability to use LTC for smaller, everyday transactions due increased speed and lower transaction fees.

Other Notable Gains Top 10 Market Cap Coins

Almost all of the coins in the top 10 measured by market capitalization have posted some amazing numbers in the first half of 2019.  Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) are the only 2 outliers. They only posted gains of 21% and 9% respectively.  

Eos  (EOS)  164%

Market Cap:  $3,607,620,451

Recent trading price: $3.87

EOS is the native token for the Eos blockchain.  This project was developed to facilitate and efficiently build scalable decentralized applications (dApps).

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)  158%

Market Cap:  $5,495,073,239

Recent trading price:  $305.38

An off-shoot of the original Bitcoin blockchain, this network has an increased block size allowing it to more efficiently process a greater volume of transactions per block.  Aimed at large payment processors.

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Bitcoin 2019 YTD Source: coinmarketcap.com

Bitcoin (BTC)  150%

Market Cap:  $184,960,440,361

Recent trading price:  $10,318.17

What would be an article about crypto without talking about the granddaddy of them all.  While BTC has not approached its previous all time highs, HODLERS and traders seeking volatility have both shown increased enthusiasm for the moves in price since January.  

Summary

The tale of the tape for the first half of 2019 seems to be a steady march upwards.  Most stocks and other traditional investment assets would love to have posted these types of returns for this period of time.  The chart below demonstrates this very nicely. While overall cryptocurrency market cap is nowhere the $700 billion plus from 2018, this demonstrates that there is still a healthy appetite for new investment in the market.  The increased trading daily trading volumes also echo the renewed enthusiasm by new investors as well as experienced traders looking for daily profits. 

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Global Cryptocurrency Market Capitalization YTD 2019 Source: coinmarketcap.com

So what will the rest of 2019 hold for cryptocurrency investors?  Will it be another wild ride like in the fall of 2017 when Bitcoin skyrocketed to $20,000?  Perhaps crypto winter could settle back in for another period of time? If it is one of these scenarios or something in between, it becomes more apparent every year that the market is maturing and developing resiliency.  Savvy investors will develop strategies to match their objectives that will hold up under all market conditions.

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