It was a great month for cryptocurrencies.
At the start of April, bitcoin was changing hands at $6,926.02 per pop. By its end, however, the cryptocurrency’s price had jumped by 36% to $9,300. That’s impressive performance, when you consider that it had a 36% decline in the previous month.
The original cryptocurrency was not the only one racking up gains in April. Ethereum and Ripple, the second- and third-most valuable coins, also surged by 65% and 58.8% respectively during this month. Their gains occurred despite a slew of reports and statements by former and current regulators about the dubious status of their tokens. For example, former CFTC chairman Gary Gensler told audiences at an MIT blockchain conference that there was a strong case for ethereum and Ripple to be considered as securities and bring them under the regulatory umbrella.
April also marked a reversal of sorts for cryptocurrency markets as a whole as they turned a corner and sped up by 60% in their overall valuations. Much like bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies had witnessed double-digit declines in the first three months of this year and crypto valuations had capsized from over $700 billion to below $300 billion in March.
As I wrote in a post for Investopedia, it is important to put these so-called gains into context. The increase in valuations are more of a recovery for crypto markets after sustained losses in the previous three months.
But the good news is that regulators are taking a second look at cryptos and it is likely that the recovery (or, gains, if you prefer to call it that) will have legs this time around.
Which Cryptocurrency Had The Maximum Gains?
While the top 10 cryptos all registered significant gains this past month, the star performers were Tron and EOS. The former coin, which is backed by China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma, was up by 190%. EOS was the top performer with an increase of 199% in its price.
But gains for both cryptocurrencies are also indicative of the problematic nature of cryptocurrency markets. Both cryptos are yet to launch their mainnet (or main platform), meaning that they still don’t have a product and their price is simply a bet of trader expectations regarding its potential. EOS received a fresh infusion of funds to expand its presence in Asia this past month. The cryptocurrency launches its mainnet on June 2. Reports have ascribed the surge in Tron prices to its mainnet launch on May 31st.