Get the weekly summary of crypto market analysis, news, and forecasts! This Week’s Summary The crypto market ends the week at a total market capitalization of $2,17 trillion. Bitcoin continues to trade at around $62,300. Ethereum experiences no changes and stagnates at around $2,400. XRP is down by 2%, Solana by 1%, and Dogecoin by 3%. Almost all altcoins are trading in the red, with very few exceptions. The DeFi sector decreased the total value of protocols (TVL) to around…
Which Altcoins Made The News in H1 of 2021
Altcoins are constantly jostling to make a mark in the crypto world. After Bitcoin and Ethereum, the race to be the third cryptocurrency force keeps heating up yearly. Many strong contenders with different use cases promise more than the big two currently offer.
As a result, many are making their mark in a big way, for good and not-so-good reasons, as long as they stand out from meme coins that ride the celebrity popularity wave and crash just as fast to more severe contenders in terms of use cases. The article shall highlight the altcoins that hit the headlines significantly for the first half of 2021.
ADA
ADA has been one of the altcoins to watch during the first half of 2021. The coin from the Cardano blockchain was launched in 2015 by Ethereum’s co-founder Charles Hoskinson. Its aims are so diverse that large mainstream news posts like one by Bloomberg see its potential as a legitimate global governance option.
Why ADA Made the News
Firstly, the coin’s blockchain hit milestones That Stunned the Crypto World. 2021 is the year when the Alonzo hard fork finally landed. While it came online in the third quarter of the year, discussions and news regarding the upgrade started much earlier. The upgrade promises full compatibility with smart contracts. Ethereum is where it is, thanks to intelligent contracts and DeFi, enjoying dominance in the space for a while now. Alonzo’s purple testnet has recently become the world’s first public mainnet that supports DeFi. Such a statement sends a strong signal in a DeFi space dominated by Ethereum.
The blockchain also achieved complete mining decentralization, meaning that 100% of the creation of new blocks is within the community’s hands. While the fact goes for other blockchains like Bitcoin, the difference is in the ownership of the pools. Bitcoin’s ten largest mining pools accounted for around 85% of blockchain block creation. Analysts believe Cardano is the most decentralized blockchain as a result.
The coin also enjoyed strong price movements. It started the year as the 8th largest by market cap. The price then was hovering at around $0.18. ADA has the 3rd largest market cap in the crypto world, at$2.16. Thus, the current value of ADA is 12 times larger than what it was at the start of the year.
ADA’s Cardano blockchain is also one of the few focusing on future upgrades and development. The platform works on issues as diverse as payments and voting to create programs without knowing programming languages. It is even working on ways to manage national fiat currencies, arguably the biggest competition to cryptos. To do all this, the blockchain development timeframe lies between five eras. They are Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire.
Binance Coin
Another strong contender for the number 3 is the Binance coin (BNB) from the Binance chain. In summary, it can even become ADA’s most significant challenge for the No 3 position. The coin was launched as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum in 2017 before moving to its own Binance Smart Chain. Its consensus is proof of authority.
Why Binance Coin Made the News
BNB is the native coin of the world’s largest crypto exchange platform, the Binance exchange. Using the currency to complete transactions on the exchange cuts prices by half. Such a situation naturally creates a strong demand for BNB, its performance and price movements are always on news sites’ radars.
To say the coin’s price movements have been astounding is an understatement. 2021 has been the year BNB broke out of its shell in terms of price gains. At the start of the year, the price hovered at around $37. By the end of the first half of 2021 (June 31), the prices were around $303. The coin is bound to finish the year strongly, with prices currently hovering around the $400 mark, attracting news sites.
Dogecoin
Dogecoin is the world’s largest meme coin, released in 2013. However, it came to the financial scene as a joke aimed at throwing jabs at the massive cryptocurrency speculation. Nevertheless, the coin has a strong following and interest, including from whales.
Why Dogecoin Made the News
Dogecoin is always on the spot as the joke that perhaps held on for too long. It came about to make jabs at high crypto volatility rates, and that’s just what it did. It has been exceedingly volatile and sensitive to giant whales and the personality figures mentioned.
Four tweets by billionaire Elon Musk during the first half of 2021 catapulted it to become one of the top cryptos, the third-largest by market cap. Of particular interest were two February 2021 tweets that say the crypto gained 40% in value. And there was a tweet by the billionaire on March 20, 2021, which saw the coin gain 11% overnight. Musk’s tweets saw the coin hit its highest-ever market cap at $85bn.
Times haven’t been as good lately, though, for Doge. Its market cap is markedly lower, currently at position 10 with a $28bn market cap. News pieces have also been keen to note it.
Solana
Solana’s SOL has been another crypto that is constantly on the news. Initially released in 2019, the crypto stands out as a potential challenge to Ethereum’s dominance in the DeFi and Smart Contract space.
Why SOL Made the News
SOL has enjoyed robust demand thanks to the promise of much lower transaction costs than Ethereum’s gwei, coupled with faster speeds. Prices have, in turn, received a significant boost thanks to the increased demand, making SOL a news darling where costs are concerned.
The price of SOL hovered at around $1.8 at the start of 2021. However, by the end of H1 of 2021, it sold a unit at an average of $35. And the world is yet to see many of SOL’s astronomical price gains this year. Prices are currently at $160 and climbing! So it is no wonder that SOL has hit the news in H1 and should continue being on the information for the rest of the year.
Tether
As the largest stablecoin globally, Tether is a force to reckon with in the crypto world. First circulated in 2014 by Bitfinex, the crypto is one of the older and more recognizable coins. So naturally, therefore, any development with the coin or its native blockchain is always a news magnate.
Why SOL Made the News
Unlike other newsmakers in the article, Tether’s impressive market cap gains haven’t resulted from price gains. As a stablecoin, its price is always $1, which is the blockchain’s target. Nevertheless, its market cap has seen tremendous growth, from $29b at the start of the year to $50b by April of the same year. It shows that crypto enjoys massive adoption rather than speculative expansion, something news channels have pointed out quickly.
On a less rosy note, revelations point to the coin not being as stable and sustainable as it had been touted since its inception. It was meant to have $1 in reserves for every Tether to sustain its price. However, reports that reviewed its resources show that the backing by cash only amounts to about 2.9% of what investors expect. That’s something news sites jumped on from the onset.
In Summary
Many altcoins strive to be the next big thing in the blockchain world, so many expect more use cases and value growth. Several notable players are setting themselves apart as the group to watch.
ADA, BNB, SOL, Doge, and Tether have stood out among the thousands of altcoins in circulation. However, it has been a mix of good and bad news for the bunch. ADA, BNB, and SOL have been in the headlines for all the good reasons, promising more returns on investments and usability. However, Doge is a pariah of volatile cryptos, while Tether has enjoyed good growth without reserves to sustain its backing.
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