Massive Bitcoin Gains Are Being Dwarfed By Ripple’s XRP, Litecoin, Ethereum And These

Bitcoin has broken fresh ground this week, climbing above $20,000 per bitcoin for the first time ever and grabbing global attention again three years after bitcoin’s 2017 boom and subsequent bust.

The bitcoin price is up around 30% over the last month, adding to gains of more than 200% since January—and pushing up other top five cryptocurrencies by value ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, and litecoin.

Ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, and litecoin, some times known as alt coins, have all soared by more than 30% over the last 30-day period, with the likes of smaller cryptocurrencies cardano, NEM and stellar making even bigger gains.

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“While bitcoin has largely dominated the narrative, I believe investors should look to alt coins who have tremendous amounts of development in both the core technology and usership, yet are still a fair way off their all-time highs,” Nicholas Pelecanos, head of trading at NEM, which developed NEM’s XEM digital token, said in emailed comments.

“Does this leave these alt coins undervalued against bitcoin? I believe it does and am expecting to see the price of these alt coins, such as ethereum and XEM, rally hard when the bitcoin price inevitably slows down.”

Many smaller cryptocurrencies are closely tied to the bitcoin price, with moves higher and lower triggered by bitcoin developments and sentiment. However, alt coins often swing by much bigger percentages, often losing or gaining double and even triple digit percentages in mere days.

Cardano, a top ten cryptocurrency, has added around 70% over the last month. Two top 20 cryptocurrencies, NEM and stellar, have more than doubled in price over the last 30 days, as bitcoin puts cryptocurrencies back in focus.

Bitcoin’s reputation as digital gold has grown this year, gaining as investors fret over the possibility of increased inflation and helped on by a number of big-name investors who have publicly named bitcoin as an emerging inflation hedge.

Bitcoin’s jump higher this week came after news fund manager Ruffer Investment Management moved around $750 million of its clients’ money into bitcoin—a move designed to “primarily a protective move for portfolios” to “act as a hedge” against “some of the risks that we see in a fragile monetary system and distorted financial markets,” a Ruffer spokesperson told bitcoin and crypto news website Coindesk.

Ahead of bitcoin’s surge over $20,000, many smaller cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum and XRP, were already soaring as investors eyed technical developments and token giveaways.

XRP, a digital token developed by Ripple, made huge gains through November ahead of a hotly-anticipated giveaway of a new cryptocurrency, known as an…