2019 was the year of Bitcoin, which stole the spotlight from the rest of the crypto industry, including altcoins like Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.
However, a small handful of altcoins vastly outperformed Bitcoin, and crushed even the returns that BTC brought investors during its year of bullish price action.
The Top Performing Crypto Assets of 2019
From trough to peak, at its local high of $14,000 Bitcoin had brought investors as much as 350% return on investment. Even at current prices of $7,500, the crypto asset is still closing out the year with a staggering 140% return.
During Bitcoin’s parabolic climb, the crypto asset sucked all the capital out of the altcoin market, causing many of them to set new lows for the year or fall into the negative year-to-date.
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However, a handful of select altcoins not only gave Bitcoin a run for its money but even have outperformed the leading cryptocurrency by market cap during what has been the strongest year since the bull run.
The five crypto altcoins to beat out Bitcoin at its own game include Constellation, Centrality, Tierion, Ripio Credit Network, and the crypto industry poster child, Chainlink.
While the list may contain four relatively unheard of altcoins, most crypto investors should have heard of Chainlink throughout the year. The cryptocurrency was at the tips of many trader’s tongues due to the strong performance is saw all year long.
News of Google and others relying on the altcoin’s underlying technology caused the asset’s price to soar, and it never came back down to refuel its jets.
The crypto asset is set to close out the year with 560% gains, barring any catastrophic price action.
The five top performing cryptocurrencies of 2019 – chart view:
1. Constellation $DAG
2. Chainlink $LINK
3. Centrality $CENNZ
4. Tierion $TNT
5. Ripio Credit Network $RCNhttps://t.co/PT2yRbG0Qx— TradingView (@tradingview) December 23, 2019
Altcoins Beat Bitcoin At Its Own Game
Despite Chainlink being the talk of the crypto market throughout the year, it was the second-best performing altcoin, behind Constellation.
Constellation’s goal is to make high-volume data exchange trustless, and the asset could close out the year with a staggering 650% return on investment, making it the biggest gainer of the crypto industry.
Following Constellation at number one and Chainlink at number two, comes Centrality, Tierion, and Ripio Credit Network.
Centrality is essentially a crypto-focused venture company, leveraging its network and token to offer innovators tools to create their own projects. The crypto asset had a stellar 2019 with as much as 326% gains for the year.
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Tierion was close behind at 310% for the year, and Ripio Credit Network was right behind with 299% return on investment for the year thus far.
So while oftentimes being a Bitcoin maximalist is the most reliable play for crypto investors, occasionally investing in a moon shot can pay off handsomely, as these altcoins have proven.