2018 has been a tough year for cryptocurrencies. It all started so promisingly, as January broke with the promise of $3 ripple and, in tron, an altcoin that was up 14,000% in 30 days. Things swiftly went south from there, and have been sinking ever since. Judged by their all-time high (ATH), the following coins are 2018’s greatest fallen angels.
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Meet 2018’s Worst in Class
Having shed $600 billion in three months, the cryptocurrency markets are having a torrid time. They’ll rally eventually, and when they do, more all-time highs may even be back on the agenda. With every single cryptocurrency mired in the red, singling out altcoins for underperforming seems a little unfair. But even without obsessing over USD value, analyzing the coins that have dropped the furthest from their ATH reveals 2018’s most over-hyped assets.
Recording the percentage drop and number of days since a coin reached its all-time high has become a popular metric on crypto tracker sites. In addition to Onchainfx, there’s now a dedicated site in the form of ATHcoinindex.com. Excluding coins whose ATH was fleetingly achieved as the result of a pump and dump, the biggest losers of this year is plain to see.
Lying in the Gutter While Looking at the Moon
Bitcoin Diamond: Astonishingly, someone once paid $105 for this garbage. It’s currently trading at $2.19. That’s a 98% retrace.
Bitcoin Gold: Spot the recurring theme. Bitcoin forks that add no real value have been hit the hardest. BTG somehow once traded at over $500. Now it’s sitting at $45, and even that feels expensive.
Einsteinium: This shitcoin has gone from $2.83 to $0.11 in 101 days, and the team have only got themselves to blame. The coin dumped following a “big announcement” that proved to be anything of the sort, and the crypto bear market took care of the rest.
Cryptocurrencies ranked by the number of days since their ATHSiacoin: It’s hard not to feel sorry for sia, which has had a tough year, what with Bitmain ASICs threatening its algorithm and increased competition from decentralized storage tokens. Sia’s down 90% in just 83 days.
NEM: NEM’s 2018 resembles Britney Spears’ 2007. First it pumped. Then it dumped, after Coincheck lost half a billion NEM in the biggest hack of all time. Then it pumped again after Coincheck began reimbursing victims of the hack. And now it’s dumped again and is sitting at $0.22, down 89% from its peak of $2.09.
Cardano: Like other entrants on this list, cardano isn’t a total shitcoin. It simply got pumped too fast, too soon amidst January’s ebullience and now it’s paying the price, down 89% in 85 days.
Verge: And then there’s verge, which was destined to dive deep the moment John McAfee began shilling