Around this time of year, we can’t help but think back to the glory days of 2017, when portfolios could double overnight and getting in on the right ICO could buy you a new car. However, simply comparing the prices of tokens in 2017 with those of today is pointless, and, for some, just painful.
What can be useful however is to compare the top 10 rankings of 2017 with those of today, as this can give a clearer idea of which of the supposedly top projects have improved, stagnated, and decayed during the crypto winter of 2018 once the hype and marketing has been stripped away.
Bitcoin Stays King
To no one’s surprise, the number one spot in 2017 was occupied by Bitcoin, as of course it is today, albeit with a staggering $133 billion knocked off the market cap since those heady days. Ethereum occupied the number two spot in 2017, with a $19 billion gap to Bitcoin Cash, which is markedly different from today, where it enjoys a much tighter $5.65 billion gap over third placed XRP.
Bitcoin Cash itself has dropped two places in three years, with Tether coming out of nowhere to take fourth spot, up from an incredible 29th in 2017. Tether is one of only two projects in the current top 10 that has a higher market cap than in 2017, with Binance Coin being the other – Tether’s market cap is 3.5 times higher than it was back then, while its 24-hour volume is an amazing eight times more than it was two years ago.
Binance Coin the Biggest Improver
Binance Coin is without doubt the success story of 2017-2019. In every single metric it has improved – the price, market cap, and 24-hour trading volume are all higher. This helps explain its move from 46th place to 8th, which, let’s not forget, has been achieved in a bear market. EOS has also entered the top 10, rising five places in two years,
The past two years haven’t been kind to a few of crypto stalwarts. Where Litecoin has held on to its top 10 berth, IOTA, Dash, and Monero have all drifted out of it – IOTA and Dash have both dropped 17 places, while Monero has fared slightly better, only dropping five places to fifteenth. Cardano has also lost its place in the top 10 but stays just outside it at 13, leaving NEM to ‘claim’ the title as worst performer in terms of placing, dropping an incredible 21 places to 29th in two years.
Two upstarts have come from nowhere to take the last two spots in today’s top 10 – Tezos and Bitcoin SV. While Tezos was around but not listed in 2017, Bitcoin SV was not even on the radar back then, given that Roger Ver and Craig Wright had just successfully forked Bitcoin into Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV was still 18 months and many arguments away.
The More Things Change…
So what can looking back at 2017 teach us about where things might be in 2021? The likelihood is that Bitcoin will still be miles out at number one, but apart from that, almost everything is up for grabs. XRP and Ethereum have shown themselves pretty resistant to change, but other old school projects such as Litecoin look vulnerable to attacks from newer ones, including those that are currently just scribbles on the backs of beer mats.
BitStarz News predicts that Binance Coin will cement itself in the top 5-6 over the next two years, but otherwise there will be very few positional changes in the top half. Ethereum’s presence in the top 5 will depend on how quickly it can adapt and scale, which may put it at risk, but generally speaking the bottom 4-5 will be where the most changes occur, offering a chance for newcomers to make their presence felt as technology evolves.
