What a year for the coins. Few could have predicted that Bitcoin’s bull run—which began at the end of 2020 and pulled the entire market up by its bootstraps—would have collapsed and annihilated virtually all of its gains. Still, in a year that saw an industry-wide liquidity crisis catalyzed by the collapses of Terra’s UST stablecoin, FTX’s bankruptcy, and the ensuing contagion, some observers might say they’re lucky to still be standing. According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s biggest coin by market cap, trades at a 75% discount from its all-time high of $69,045, posted on November 10, 2021. It has also dropped more than 60% from its price of $46,320 on New Year’s Day. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), which began the year at $3,686, trades at $1,215 as of December 21. Credit has to be given where it’s due, and the two market leaders were not the sturdiest crypto assets this year. Decrypt consulted data from across the industry to round up this year’s best-performing coins, DeFi tokens, and equities for your reading pleasure (or pain). Given the wild unknowns of the market, this list certainly does not constitute investment advice, but it does throw light on not only some of the biggest stories of the year but also perhaps some of the more surprising.
Full analysis : Who Lost the Least? Top Performing Crypto Assets of 2022.
