This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: bitcoin and ether. We’ve also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this article began. According to Wikipedia, a cryptocurrency is “a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.”
Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency and decentralized digital currency. The first bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009 and has since grown worldwide. Ether is another cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform and has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three with its launch in July 2015. XRP, which is owned by Ripple and launched in 2012, was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until new coins joined the market. We’ve included it here for reference.
The third-largest market share of cryptocurrency, tether, is a token “backed by actual assets” which includes one US dollar, one euro, or loans to affiliate companies and is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex. It’s a controversial cryptocurrency due to its alleged manipulation of crypto pricing. It is called a “stable coin” because it was designed to always be worth $1.00. We do not chart it because its price rarely changes.
The Latest Crypto Data (through June 27, 2023)
Bitcoin’s rally continued this past week as the digital currency saw its highest daily close in over a year, soaring beyond $30,000 for the first time since April. BTC is currently up ~83% year to date.
XRP has exhibited a see-saw pattern in recent days, with the digital currency not registering back-to-back gains or losses for over a week. XRP is currently up ~45% year-to-date.
Following two straight weeks of decline, Ether experienced a significant rally this past week as it broke $1,900 for the first time in almost four weeks. ETH is currently up ~57% year-to-date.
An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. Ether tops the chart, i.e., the price of an ether has changed the most out of all three cryptocurrencies.
ETFs associated with cryptocurrencies include: ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) and ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI).
Originally published by Advisor Perspectives on June 28, 2023.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Crypto Channel.
This article was originally written by Jill Mislinski. Starting in January 2023, AP Charts pages will be maintained by Jennifer Nash at VettaFi | Advisor Perspectives