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Bitcoin broke above $10,000 and is trading well above the key level. Ethereum is up over 200% year to date, and the rest of the crypto market is right behind it. However, small-cap altcoins have been beating out all major crypto assets three-to-one over the last month. But what is causing the significant outperformance?
Total Crypto Market Rallies 100% In 2020, Small-Cap Altcoins Benefit The Most
Before the recent pullback across crypto, the total market cap rose a full 100% in 2020. During the greater crypto market rally, Bitcoin dominance has dropped considerably, allowing altcoins to shine.
Ethereum, for example, has beaten Bitcoin by a large percentage, with nearly three times the ROI in the same timeframe. Other altcoins, such as Chainlink have fared even better, as has the entire DeFi space.
Related Reading | Small Cap Altcoins Have Outperformed Bitcoin By 5x in 2020
It’s led the total altcoin market cap to also edge out Bitcoin in terms of overall year to date gains. Crypto analysts refer to this change in trend as an altcoin season, and it is not uncommon to see more than 100% performance against BTC ratios on altcoin trading pairs.
But as well as Ethereum and other major cryptos have performed, it is small-cap altcoins that have done the best this August.
Why Are Small-Cap Cryptocurrency Assets Beating Out Majors Like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP?
All of crypto is still net positive for August, despite a rejection over the last two weeks. Bitcoin’s monthly candle has since turned red, but bullish altcoins have helped keep the total crypto market cap monthly green.
As well as Bitcoin has performed, its altcoins that have added the most percentage gain to the total market cap. But there is one particular subset of alts that have done even better than the likes of Ethereum, XRP, Chainlink, and others.
According to data from the latest Weekly Report from Arcane Research, the Bletchley 40 Index comprised of 40 total small-cap altcoins has shown more than three times the performance as mid-caps, five times the performance of majors like Ethereum and XRP, and a whopping ten times the performance of Bitcoin.
But why? Why are small-cap altcoins soaring while safer, trusted crypto assets aren’t doing anywhere near as well?
Bletchley Indexes claims that the Bletchley 40 Index consists of assets with a market capitalization that span “from $30 million to $500 million USD.”
Related Reading | These Altcoins Set a New ATH While Bitcoin And Ethereum Tank
By comparison, Bitcoin has a $200 billion market cap. Gold’s is $11 trillion. When market caps are larger, it takes far more capital to move the needle compared to illiquid, low cap altcoins.
With a massive capital rotation going on due to so many crypto investors in profit, what little money does trickle down into small-caps, ends up resulting in a lot more ROI due to market cap alone.
That’s not to say that small-cap altcoins are a better investment. These same assets crashed the hardest after the crypto bubble. For now, however, putting money in small-caps has been far more rewarding than Bitcoin or other majors coins have.
