The term altcoin can be used for any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Altcoins are usually advertised and sold as better alternatives to Bitcoin. Results taken from a price action analysis concluded our official study of the top performing altcoins of 2020 by YTD returns. The market data in this article is taken from multiple exchanges provided by TradingView.
Cardano
Based out of Switzerland, Cardano is an open source project running a public blockchain platform for smart contracts. The platform was officially launched in 2017 by a man named Charles Hoskinson. Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum, reportedly left Ethereum after an internal dispute about the direction of the project. After leaving, Hoskinson co-founded IOHK – the blockchain engineering company responsible for developing Cardano. This crypto just makes the list coming in 6th place with a YTD return of 431% for 2020.
Ethereum
Released in July of 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum is the largest decentralized, open-source blockchain featuring smart contract functionality. While bitcoin is aimed to be only money, Ethereum aims to run applications by creating numerous ledgers which can be used to create additional crypto currencies that run on top of its blockchain and also run applications. It’s cryptocurrency ETH comes in 5th place on our list with a YTD return of 496% for the year of 2020.
Waves
Launched by Russian entrepreneur Alexander Ivanov in 2016, Waves runs on a modification of the proof-of-stake consensus. Waves runs one of the first decentralized exchanges in history allowing users to trade tokens without conducting a transaction through an intermediate currency. WAVES displayed a magnificent spread in 2020 but ultimately finished in 4th place with a YTD return of 519%.
NEM
NEM NIS1 blockchain platform offers developers widely flexible and completely customizable solutions. Key features for developers include performance advantages, deep customization, and ease of development. The NIS1 blockchain platform has attracted many developers for its powerful features while the project’s native crypto currency has attracted many traders. Coming in 3rd place on our list, NEM yielded a YTD return of 580% in 2020.
Chainlink
Subjectively one of the most undervalued crypto currency projects of our time, Chainlink universally connects smart contracts to the outside world. The project has solved the problem many high quality crypto projects face: real world smart contract applicability. Through its decentralized oracle network, Chainlink allows its users to build tamper-proof inputs and outputs for smart contracts on any blockchain. LINK, the native coin powering Chainlink, secures 2nd place on our list with a YTD return of 591% at the close of 2020.
Theta
Reaching new all time highs in 2020, Theta created a blockchain for decentralized video streaming. The project’s video streaming service offers peer-to-peer delivery through it’s network, which is powered by its users. Theta effectively reduces the cost of delivering global video streams. This is easily one of the best performing altcoins of 2020 and one to put on your watchlist for 2021. Taking first place by storm, THETA reigns supreme on our list with a glorious YTD return of 2295%.
| Coin | 2020 YTD Growth |
| Cardano (ADA) | 431% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 496% |
| Waves (WAVES) | 519% |
| NEM (XEM) | 580% |
| Chainlink (LINK) | 591% |
| Theta (THETA) | 2295% |
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By viewing any material or using the information within this publication you understand that this is general education material and you can not hold any person or entity responsible for loss or damages resulting from the content or general advice provided here. Trading cryptocurrency has potential rewards, but also potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the markets. Only trade with funds you can afford to lose. This publication is neither a solicitation nor an offer to buy/sell cryptocurrency or other financial assets. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed in any material on this website. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Sources:
1. https://ethereum.org/en/
2. https://cardano.org
3. https://www.google.com/amp/s/en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Amp/Waves_Platform 4. https://www.tradingview.com/
5. https://nem.io/latest/
6. https://chain.link/
7. https://www.thetatoken.org/
Written by Edward Gonzales © Crypto University 2021