The start of 2018 wasn't particularly auspicious for cryptocurrencies...to say the least. The value of the market dropped by a whopping $93 billion, to hit a low of $276 billion on February 6, well off the all-time high of $834 billion reached in the early days of January.
Bitcoin for example, the world's biggest virtual currency by market capitalization, lost about 25% in January, its biggest monthly percentage decline in three years, amid increased fears over regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Asia. Despite its modest recovery in recent days, Bitcoin prices remain down about 18% since the start of 2018.
Bitcoin isn't the only mainstream cryptocurrency to endure a rough start to the new year. For instance, Ripple, the third biggest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, has declined 55% since January 1, making it one of the worst performing digital currencies of 2018.
That follows a banner year in 2017, in which Bitcoin soared a whopping 1,320%, while Ripple scored a jaw-dropping gain of 36,000%.
Still, not all coins have endured the wrath of sellers, with some of the more resilient names, covered below, catching many crypto traders and investors by surprise. In this post we take a look at the five best performing cryptocurrencies so far in 2018. Most interesting, perhaps, is that many of last year's top performers are absent from this list.
In order to filter the 1,500+ coins which currently exist in the cryptospace, we decided to focus only on digital currencies with a market cap of greater than $1 billion, which left a total of 26 coins.
Editor's note: Investing in cryptocurrencies is highly speculative.This post should not be considered an endorsement, nor investment advice. It’s simply reportage. Do your own due diligence before investing in any particular asset or asset class. Coin statistics were collected on February 21, 2018. Values might differ depending on when you're reading this post.
1. VeChain (VEN/USD)
After starting the year at $2.2900, VeChain soared to an all-time high of $9.7000 on January 22. It has since pulled back to $6.4320 for a year-to-date gain of 160%, earning it the title of best performing digital currency so far in 2018.
At current prices, it has a market cap of around $3.0 billion, making it the 16th biggest cryptocurrency in circulation.
VeChain is a blockchain-enabled platform that is designed to enhance supply chain management processes. From product source materials, to servicing history, and spare part replacements, every single piece of information about the supply chain movement of a product can be recorded and verified to bring about a supply chain management ecosystem that is secure for all participants.
