2017 will go down in history as the year that the cryptocurrency market shook the financial world to its core. Presenting a new way for consumers to spend, save, and gamble, there is no denying that world’s leading cryptocurrencies are here to stay. For years, there was simply Bitcoin in the eyes of many, but that’s now changed, with various altcoins seeing an equally impressive rise over the past 12 months. The likes of Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple have been on the charge as of late, but as the CoinGecko year-end report explains, Bitcoin is still very much the crypto-king!
Becoming a mainstream mainstay
CoinGecko’s year-end report has become something of a must-read document for anyone that holds an interest in cryptocurrency. This is because there is a lot within the report that proves noteworthy, but it’s probably best to start breaking it down with something that has nothing to do with the usual growth statistics attached to Bitcoin. Instead, the legalities of Bitcoin are certainly worth looking at. Now, before we start, CoinGecko hasn’t looked at Bitcoin from a legal tender perspective, it simply looks at Bitcoin country to country, determining whether it’s deemed legal or illegal. Bitcoin doesn’t just best other cryptocurrencies when it comes to legal acceptance – it trounces them. 66 countries deem Bitcoin to be legal, with just 6 standing against it, deeming it illegal. Other cryptos might be making progress with regards to legal use, but Bitcoin still has more legal standing than pretty much every other cryptocurrency combined.
Steadily growing public interest
The growing legal acceptance of Bitcoin leads to another major point, which is the fact that Bitcoin’s public interest has exploded in 2017. From daily tabloids like The Sun through the financial authorities like the Wall Street Journal, Bitcoin has been making headlines everywhere. The CoinGecko gave it a public interest rating of 53%, making it the only cryptocurrency in the world to cross the 50% barrier, with Ethereum being the next closest at 43%. Considering the CoinGecko’s public interest percentage is compiled from Bing search results and Alexa rankings, it shows that Bitcoin has become a commonly searched term.
ATH after ATH
Statistics in the realm of cryptocurrency can be somewhat of a controversial subject matter, largely as many media outlets twist theme for ulterior purposes, as a means to attack the cryptocurrency market. What CoinGecko presents in its year-end report is clear data that confirms Bitcoin’s unstoppable performance during 2017. Between January and December, growth saw Bitcoin’s price move from approximately $1,000 to just shy of $20,000, before ending the year valued at $14,129. Compounding the price rise has obviously been the rise in market cap, which reached a staggering $248,925,602,660.69. Year-to-date price returns of 1,387% also signify Bitcoin’s growing stature, along with Bitcoin’s record-breaking transaction volumes.
Deciphering “Digital Gold”
The technical aspects of Bitcoin make for slightly different reading that the statistics, as it shows that average block time and scalability is still an issue that it must address. Standing at 10 minutes, Bitcoin is beaten in this department by the likes of Ripple, Ethereum, and Litecoin, along with lesser-known altcoins such as Verge, and Qtum. Ripple carries the fast average block time at just 3.5 seconds. Tying into this, CoinGecko also lists the common descriptive terms for the leading cryptos – Bitcoin’s is pretty telling. While Bitcoin should – and soon will be – seen as a functional day-to-day currency thanks to innovations such as the Lightning Network, the label of “Digital Gold” says plenty.
Bitcoin has smashed through the glass ceiling!
The CoinGecko year-end Report makes for fascinating reading, so we would suggest that everyone picks it up and analyzes what it has to say. Taking it at face value, the report tells quite the story of Bitcoin’s journey during 2017, with its astronomical rise being spelled out as clear as day. Bitcoin might not have had the hottest start to 2018, but there is now no doubt that last year belonged to Bitcoin, with this cryptocurrency dominating the market, leaving even the leading altcoins chasing shadows!
