Altcoins have still got a leg-up over Bitcoin, despite the king coin’s massive pump. During the late hours of 18 January, Bitcoin broke the $9,000 ceiling for the first time since November, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency surging over its 200-day moving average. Despite such steep movement, however, top altcoins like Ethereum and Binance Coin have seen bigger moves since the year began.
The top altcoin, Ethereum, has recorded a massive surge in the market lately owing to a slew of factors. From DeFi to MakerDao, the Ethereum network has been constantly developing, with the same having spillover effects on the price of Ether [ETH].
Since the year began, three weeks ago, ETH has risen by almost 40 percent, with its price surging from $128 to over $175. The aforementioned surge has positioned ETH as the highest gaining large-cap cryptocurrency this year.
Source: ETH/USD via Trading View
While it should be noted that Bitcoin SV recorded a bigger rise, especially over the last week owing to developments in the Wright v. Klieman case, most major exchanges, except Bitfinex, OKEx, and Huobi, do not offer BSV trading. Hence, the markets are dominated by lesser-known exchanges which are known to fake volume.
Another consistent YTD performance was recorded by Binance Coin as it recorded a 38 percent incline since the year began, trading at well over $18 after it began the year at $12. After closing 2019 on a low, losing almost half its value in the final two months of the year, BNB began its resurgence in mid-December and it has since, added over $8 to its price.
Source: BNB/USD via Trading View
In comparison, Bitcoin has only gained 30 percent since the year began. Moreover, the altcoins were not spurred by the global macroeconomic market, like Bitcoin was. In the first week of the year, as the United States killed an Iranian military commander, oil, gold, and Bitcoin saw a massive rise, all “safe-haven” assets. This US-Iran conflict took Bitcoin over $8,000 on 7 January for the first time since November.
Gold, despite seeing 10 consecutive green candlesticks on the daily chart and rising to its highest point in over 6 years, has seen a 3.84 percent price increase to its 2020 ATH at $1,574 per ounce of gold. To be fair, gold, which had one of the best performances last year, compared to previous years, rose by just 21 percent. Hence, volatility and immediate price inclines are not the yellow metal’s forte.
The premier equity index, the S&P500, also saw a mere 3 percent increase since the beginning of the month.
