How Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fared in 2021:
Categories: Bitcoin
Cryptocurrencies were peerless conduits of greed and fear in 2021, alternately minting and wiping out fortunes as they swung wildly while adding some $1.5 trillion in overall market value along the way.
Bitcoin, up more than 60% this year, absorbed much of the attention but had to share more of the limelight with the likes of Ether and Binance Coin as well as meme tokens such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
In fact, Bitcoin’s share of the crypto market shrank dramatically over 2021 as other tokens rocketed, a sign of how investor interest in digital assets broadened out despite — or perhaps because of — enormous volatility.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, began the year with a 70% share of the market. That has fallen to less than 40%, in part as Ether’s popularity increased. But money has flowed into other tokens too, and for some that trend could be a sign of potentially destabilizing speculative froth.
Controversy over Bitcoin’s putative role in investment portfolios continues to rage. Proponents argue it offers a hedge against some of the highest inflation in a generation. But the token in ..