Back in December — when cryptocurrencies were making the news daily, and word was spreading like wildfire among retail investors that if they put their money into Bitcoin, their investment would grow overnight — a lot of investments were made at the top of the market due to herd mentality and fear of missing out.
Bitcoin hit its all time high of $20,035.90 on Dec. 17, 2017 (https://coinmarketcap.com/). However, since that date, the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets has been in a steady decline. The market cap for cryptocurrencies has declined over 50 percent from the all time high of $327.1 bln in December to the current market cap of $129.7 bln on Feb. 6.
If you were one of the unfortunate individuals who invested in cryptocurrencies at the peak of the market, here is how much you have lost on every $1,000 that you invested into Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) — the three largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Bitcoin
According to CoinMarketcap.com, Bitcoin price hit an all time high of $20,035.90 on Dec. 17, 2017. If an investor put $1,000 into Bitcoin on that date, and we assume there were no fees when purchasing the Bitcoin, $1,000 would have bought .049 BTC. At press time, the price of Bitcoin is $7700 — a 61 percent decline in price from the all time high in December. Today, .049 BTC is worth $349.37; an investor who invested $1000 in Bitcoin during the peak of the market would have lost $650.63 on their initial investment.
Ether
Ether hit its all time high of $1413.72 on Jan. 13, 2018 — roughly a month after Bitcoin hit its record high. If an investor invested $1000 in Ether during the peak of the ETH market, that investor’s $1000 would have bought them .70 ETH. Since Jan. 13, the price of Ether has declined about 43 percent to $795.94. Today, .70 Ether is worth $557.16; an investor who invested $1000 into Ethereum during the peak of the market would have lost $442.84 on their initial investment.
Ripple
Ripple experienced its all time high of $3.73 on Jan. 4, 2018. If an investor invested $1000 into Ripple at the peak of the XRP market, that investor would have received 268.09 XRP in return. Since its all time high in January, Ether has declined 79 percent to its current value of $.765. If an investor invested $1000 into Ripple at the peak of the XRP market, that investor’s 268.09 Ripple would be worth $205.98 today — a $794.02 decrease from the investor’s initial investment. Yikes.
The downtrend and the exception
The cryptocurrency markets have been having a rough time since the media slowed their roll and the narratives around Bitcoin took a turn to the negative. Out of the three largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, Ether has weathered the market the best. Ether is the only currency out of the big three whose price has not declined by 50 percent, and Ether is the only currency out of the three to finish January in the green. That being said, I don’t think any investor who put money into the cryptocurrency market at its peak would be too happy with the results the markets are showing today.
Alex Dovbnya
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov