Yahoo – AFP,
January 14, 2018
Paris (AFP)
- Bitcoin may be the most famous cryptocurrency but, despite a dizzying rise,
it's not the most lucrative one and far from alone in a universe that counts
1,400 rivals, and counting.
 |
| New crypto kids on the block are whizzing past bitcoin with breathtaking profitability (AFP Photo/PIERRE TEYSSOT) |
Dozens of
crypto units see the light of day every week, as baffled financial experts look
on, and while none can match Bitcoin's $200-billion euro ($242 bilion) market
capitalisation, several have left the media darling's profitability in the
dust.
In fact,
bitcoin is not even in the top 10 of the crypto world's best performers.
Top of the
heap is Ripple which posted a jaw-dropping 36,000 percent rise in 2017 and
early this year broke through the 100-billion euro capitalisation mark,
matching the value of blue-chip companies such as, say, global cosmetics giant
L'Oreal.
"Its
value shot up when a newspaper said that around 100 financial institutions were
going to adopt their system," said Alexandre Stachtchenko, co-founder of
specialist consulting group Blockchain Partners.
Using
Ripple's technology framework, however, is not the same as adopting the
currency itself, and so the Ripple's rise should be considered as "purely
speculative", according to Alexandre David, founder of sector specialist
Eureka Certification.
Others
point out that Ripple's market penetration is paper-thin as only 15 people hold
between 60 and 80 percent of existing Ripples, among them co-founder Chris
Larsen.
- They
can't be best at everything -
But it
still got him a moment of fame when, according to Forbes magazine, Larsen
briefly stole Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's spot as the fifth-wealthiest
person in the US at the start of the year.
Ether is
another rising star, based on the Ethereum protocol created in 2009 by a 19-year
old programmer and seen by some specialists as a promising approach.
Around 40
virtual currencies have now gone past the billion-euro mark in terms of
capitalisation, up from seven just six months ago. The Cardano cryptocurrency's
combined value even hit 15 billion euros only three months after its creation.
In efforts
to stand out from the crowd, virtual currency founders often concentrate on the
security of their systems, such as Cardano, which has made a major selling
point of its system's safety features.
Others work
on connected devices so "machines understand each other and are able to
send each other value units, money, without going through a person or
centralised third party", Stachtchenko said.
Some, like
Monero, focus on guaranteeing anonymity, and others on share and bond issues,
or on speeding up the confirmation time for transactions, like Litecoin.
"It is
impossible for a cryptocurrency to be the best at all the various tasks,"
said Stachtchenko said.
Meanwhile
financiers, established banks and regulators keep issuing stern warnings to the
investment community to stay clear of cryptocurrencies.
Legendary
investor Warren Buffett said that cryptocurrencies would "come to a bad
ending" and that he would never stake money on them.
The South
Korean government said it was working on a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading,
but then backtracked.
Analysts
meanwhile predict that rollercoaster ride of virtual currencies is set to carry
on.
"When
Wall Street bonuses hit bank accounts on January 15, I imagine we'll see a
crypto buying spree of epic proportions" said Meltem Demirors, director of
the Digital Currency Group, which invests in crypto businesses.
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