It's not a surprise to many when the top crypto Bitcoin which has the most network effect is doing so well. After getting a $1.5 billion injection from Elon Musk, it pumped the coin to over $50K, currently sitting comfortably at $52K. However, Bitcoin isn't the only dog in this fight.
Other cryptocurrencies are soaring
When it comes to smart contracts and complex scripts running on a blockchain to do various tasks like running dapps or dexs, there is no other than Ethereum. ETH has done very well over the past month, nearly doubling it's total market cap from $120 billion to $220 billion currently. It passed it's all time high last a few years ago and surpassed it, currently sitting just under $2K.
It's been a tough road for ETH though once the ATH was hit, as resistance at the $1800-$1900 range has been brutal, and it doesn't seem it's able to get passed it yet. One of the major obstacles that has put a damper on things has been Ethereum gas fees, where in some instances we have seen fees over $100 for a single transaction. Most other regular contract transactions we are seeing though have fees up to $25 per transaction, which is still extremely high.
With the high gas fees, it's started driving some ETH users to other blockchains.
Enter in Cardano
Cardano (ADA) has done exceptionally well this during this cycle. A month ago there market cap is $9 billion, now it's risen to over $28 billion. One of the main drivers has been that ADA directly competes with ETH, as it's a smart contracts blockchain that does many of the things ETH does. However, ADA doesn't have the same network activity and userbase, so it's still growing but with the market the way it is, it has a big opportunity to outperform other coins and grow even further.
Protocols, oracles, and digital cash
Besides smart contracts, there are many other utility cryptocurrencies that are doing really well too. For example, a month or two ago many people may not have heard of Polkadot (DOT). It went from a $13 billion market cap to a $32 billion market cap. DOT is multi-chain protocol technology, where it can connect different blockchains using it's relay chain.
Another crypto that seems to be fighting it out is Chainlink (LINK). Even their community members call themselves "LINK Marines." LINK has been around for a bit now, but is doing well this cycle jumping from a $7 billion market cap a month ago to $14 billion today. LINK is a chain agnostic oracle network, where it provides secure decentralized data points to blockchains.
Lastly, another cryptocurrency that has done exceptionally well that seems to be the most underrated is Bitcoin Cash (BCH). A month ago the BCH market cap was $6 billion, and today it is nearly $14 billion. Bitcoin Cash is trying to compete in the payments space directly competing with cash and other forms of money, which some have said is a $100 trillion market. BCH is no longer in competition with BTC, which is going after the gold market as a store of value, being digital gold. The gold market is a $10 trillion market. Clearly you can see the upside potential.
Recently Bitcoin Cash was able to get another big player to adopt the cryptocurrency, in the form of MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom. Kim has said Bitcoin Cash is undervalued, and has the biggest upside potential, even creating a website to promote the digital cash.
There are many other cryptocurrencies that are doing well too, some better than others, some that compete with others and are bringing new tech to the table, further advancing the crypto sector.
As it's turning out, the 2021 year is becoming an eventful and exciting year for cryptocurrencies.
