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It goes without saying that a lot has happened over the past four years when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
We went through the market’s most parabolic cycle in 2017 and a prolonged bear market in 2018.
In 2020, the market is arguably in a bullish state coming into this year’s US Presidential Elections, where Donald Trump will battle to keep his presidency against Joe Biden. At times like these, it’s worth taking a step back and see how the market looked during the previous elections that took place in 2016.
Top Cryptocurrency Prices in 2016 and Their Growth
Naturally, the first cryptocurrency to consider when drawing a comparison between the prices back in 2016 and now is bitcoin.
BTC went from $709.85 on November 8th, 2016, to its current trading price of around $13,544 for a total ROI of about 1,802%. To put it in perspective, that’s an increase of about 19x, and putting $100 in BTC back then would mean that you have over $1,900 right now.
Ethereum is clearly the leading cryptocurrency in this regard. ETH was trading at $10.83 back on that day, and it marks a surge of more than 3,390%. Ripple’s XRP, Litecoin, and Monero are also in the four-digit territory, as seen in the chart below.
Bitcoin’s total market cap back then was around $79 million, while ETH boasted a capitalization of just above $6 million – a far cry from the numbers today.
It’s Not Just a Matter of Returns
Seeing big flashy green numbers in the portfolio is undoubtedly satisfying, but the growth of the industry is measured by factors much greater than just returns.
In 2020 there are two companies that have received official banking licenses in the US. The first one was Kraken, and the second one was the Bitcoin-friendly Avanti.
The world’s largest online payment processor, PayPal, has officially announced its support for cryptocurrencies. Customers will soon be able to buy, sell, and store their crypto directly into PayPal’s wallets. The company will also work to facilitate the incorporation of cryptocurrency in its network consisting of millions of merchants.
Major Names in Bitcoin
Another thing to consider is the fact that more and more companies are venturing in the field. This became particularly evident throughout the past few months when public companies bought bitcoin as part of their reserve balance.
MicroStrategy was the first NASDAQ-listed company to stand out as it bought almost half a billion worth of BTC in a few months. Jack Dorsey’s Square followed suit, and it bought $50 million worth of the cryptocurrency.
But that’s not all. Major institutional investors such as Michael Novogratz, Paul Tudor Jones, Chamath Palihapitiya, to name a few, have also outlined the merits of Bitcoin on numerous occasions.
In any case, it’s safe to say that we’ve come a long way in the past four years, making the next four even more interesting to follow.