10 Best Performing Cryptos of 2019 Not Named Bitcoin
Since the start of 2019, the crypto market has been on the receiving end of an insane amount of financial volatility.
In January, the total market capitalization was around $130 billion. In July, the total capitalization value of crypto space increased by almost 300% ($373 billion). Now it’s hovering a tad under the $200 billion thresholds.
A few cryptocurrencies maintained a strong financial standing all year long and were able to stave off the various economic slumps that were observed throughout 2019. Let’s see what are these cryptocurrencies.
1. ChainLink
The ChainLink (LINK) network is a different blockchain than what the mainstream currency tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are providing. It is an oracle service, which is set to collect verified real-world data and bring it onto the blockchain.
The goal is to provide a method for connecting blockchain to an off-chain structure through smart contracts. This would mean that the blockchain would be able to establish a connection with various powerful infrastructures, such as APIs, bank and retail payments, constantly updated market data, and even other blockchains.
The current supply is 350 million LINK tokens, out of which all are in circulation. The maximum supply is 1 billion LINK tokens, but it is yet to be announced when all will be released.
2. Binance Coin
Binance Coin (BNB) was created by Binance in 2017 as its utility token for discounted trading fees. Initially issued as an ERC20 token, Binance Coin has since become the native token of the main Binance Chain blockchain.
Binance Coin can also be used to pay for travel expenses (such as hotels and flights booking), to buy virtual gifts, to shop using a credit card, and more.
The initial total supply of BNB was defined as 200,000,000 coins, but due to the regular coin burn events, the supply is gradually decreasing.
3. Tezos
Tezos (XTZ) is a decentralized computing platform that makes use of a formal verification protocol as well as a proof-of-stake consensus module for its internal governance-related matters. In regard to how the system works, XTZ holders who stake their tokens are eligible to receive additional tokens as an incentive for creating and verifying blocks.
4. Synthetix Network Token
SNX is token built on the Ethereum platform. SNX is the utility token of the Synthetix exchange. Synthetix Network Tokens back all Synths. SNX has P2C (peer-to-contract) trading.
The SNX synthetic assets (Synths) track the prices of a basic asset. These assets are collateralized by the SNX which, when fixed in a contract, enables the issuance of Synths.
The total supply of the Synthetix Network Token will jump from 100,000,000 to 245,312,500 with the annual reduction of the inflation rate.
5. Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a hard fork of Bitcoin which was developed to fight Bitcoin’s scalability problem. Bitcoin Cash mining is very similar to that of its predecessor, the codebase of the fork wasn’t changed critically either. However, Bitcoin Cash is much faster than Nakamoto’s coin and has additional features.
Despite some backlash, Bitcoin Cash quickly gained a public appreciation and today Bitcoin Cash exchange is provided by nearly every crypto trading platform. To this day, the coin is one of the major participants of the cryptocurrency industry.
The total number of Bitcoin Cash mined by miners per block will reduce from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC in the next bitcoin halving. The number of Bitcoin Cash found per block will become more scarce and this halving reward ensures that Bitcoin Cash’s total supply will reach 21 million.
6. Cosmos
Cosmos (ATOM) is a decentralized network comprising of various blockchains that are independent, scalable and interoperable. The platform has gained a lot of attention over the course of 2019, especially since cryptocurrency associated with the network, ATOM, surged dramatically during the month of May.
To put things into perspective, it bears mentioning that on Jan. 1, ATOM was trading for a price of $0.001. As things stand, the currency is selling well over $4.20.
7. Litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) is a cryptocurrency that was designed by Charlie Lee as an alternative to the original crypto coin, Bitcoin. Litecoin’s value is also determined solely by the market, the coin has no central issuer or governance. Litecoin mining is performed via the scrypt algorithm instead of Bitcoin’s sha-256. As a “lighter version” of Bitcoin, Litecoin possesses a couple of advantages over its predecessor.
Litecoin mining is easier on the gear, its transactions are faster and its block generation time is shorter. The first significant growth in Litecoin’s price happened in the late autumn of 2013 when the Litecoin price increased two times in the course of one day. The Litecoin to USD ratio is currently one of the major indicators of the market. Litecoin news remains very important for the whole industry.
8. Basic Attention Token
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a cryptocurrency designed to power the Brave internet browser. Brave is a blockchain-based browser that provides a pay-to-surf payment system. The browser is based on Chromium and was created by Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and a co-founder of the Mozilla project.
The Brave browser is powered by the Basic Attention Token, and it is used to establish mutually beneficial relations between web resources and its users. The browser’s funding in various cryptos is transferred into its native cryptocurrency — the BAT coin. This is later distributed to websites that were deprived of advertisements and are visited by the browser’s users.
The Basic Attention Token market cap is over 175 million dollars at press time. The coin’s current price record is 0.86 cents per token.
9. Ethereum
Ethereum is defined as a cryptocurrency and a blockchain platform developed by Vitalik Buterin. The Ethereum smart contracts technology quickly made the coin one of the major players in the industry. The price of Ethereum grew fast alongside the cryptocurrency market boom. However, the Ethereum miners were not only the beneficiaries of the boom but also some of its drivers. The platform offers power to many other significant projects with its token issuance system.
The Ethereum wallet is often used to store not only the Ethereum coin but also multiple tokens that are issued via the platform. The price of Ethereum provided the coin with a stable position on the market and made it one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the industry.
10. EOS
EOS is a cryptocurrency platform that is presented by its development team as an OS for dapp construction. EOS coin is the platform’s internal currency that is used to exchange value, pay for the platform’s services, and cover the costs caused by previously deployed dapps.
The EOS blockchain provides advanced scalability and significant space for customization. The EOS ICO was performed under Etherum’s ERC-20 standard. However, the current EOS token is based on the source code of the EOS platform. EOS’s price grew quite fast since its development and the coin is a robust member of the top-5 cryptos in terms of market capitalization.
What will Ethereum be worth in 2020? Will McAfee’s $1M Bitcoin Price Wager become real? What is the future of Ripple? Will Tron be a good investment in 2020? Let’s just wait and see what kind of things and events the new year will bring :)
