Neither bitcoin nor ether are among the best performing cryptocurrencies in 2022.
Between two crypto crashes and the collapse of FTX, the year 2022 will have been particularly eventful for cryptocurrencies. As the year draws to a close, let’s take a look at the top 5 cryptos and vice versa. To establish these rankings, we have relied on one-year yield data established by the specialist website Coinmarketcap.
Among the top 5 cryptocurrencies, some have enjoyed interest after the collapse of FTX. Others are beginning to prove their usefulness or are simply purely speculative. The two main capitalized cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and ether, do not appear in these rankings. Bitcoin’s “dominance”, i.e. its weight in the global cryptocurrency market has decreased in recent years (from 70% in December 2020 to 40% today), in favor of other cryptocurrencies called “altcoins”.
- GMX, the crypto of decentralized finance
Launched in September 2021, this cryptocurrency shows a 100% increase over a year. It is mainly used in so-called decentralized financial operations (DeFi), where users can perform traditional financial operations (loans, etc.) without an intermediary. The price of this token has risen over the past few months, rising from $26 in mid-November to $44 to date.
The upward trend in the price of GMX is explained by the collapse of the centralized exchange platform FTX (Editor’s note: the company went bankrupt on November 11), where investors massively fall back on decentralized solutions. The token was simultaneously made available in 2022 on several popular platforms such as Binance and Huobi Global, making it more popular.
- Trust Wallet Token, the crypto pro wallet
Launched in 2017, this cryptocurrency has an annual increase of 82% and a market capitalization of $545 million. In particular, it acts as a “governance” token in the decentralized platform (DEX) Trust Wallet, meaning that users can use it to vote and assert certain decisions about the life of an ecosystem. Trust Wallet functions primarily as a crypto wallet. Like GMX, this cryptocurrency rose after the collapse of the giant FTX, amid distrust of centralized platforms, making DEXs more attractive.
- ApeCoin, the NFT crypto
Launched in March 2022, this so-called “governance” cryptocurrency is carried by the “Bored Ape Yacht Club”, from the world of NFTs (non-fungible token). This cryptocurrency did not make a loss in 2022 according to Coinmarketcap, despite the decline of NFTs in 2022. It has risen alongside the interest in decentralized governance projects. ApeCoin has not realized a loss (0% annual return) for a whole year despite some turbulence in 2022.
- Unus Sed Leo, the crypto tool
Launched in 2019 in limited quantities, this cryptocurrency (or “utility token”) allows users of the Bitfinex crypto exchange platform to save money on transaction fees, which can be very high depending on the platform used. According to data from Coinmarketcap, it shows a loss of 5% over a year, much less than most of the main cryptocurrencies (between 60 and 85% loss over a year). For example, the queen of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin has lost more than 70% of its value since its historic peak in November 2021, at $69,000.
- OKB, speculative crypto
This cryptocurrency has lost 18% of its value over the course of a year. It is the native token of OKX crypto exchange. While the cryptocurrency experienced some turbulence throughout the year, it made significant gains at different times, such as March, August, and November. According to some analysts, the rebounds of this cryptocurrency are not necessarily associated with major events (except for FTX’s fall in November), suggesting that it is subject to heavy speculation.
- The 5 losing cryptos: from Luna, via FTT and Solana
Last spring, the luna cryptocurrency saw its price drop by 100% after the collapse of the Terra Luna blockchain. Similarly, FTX’s native token, FTT, fell 98% in November following the US stock market crash. This token is still subject to very high speculation related to FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, with some tweets from former FTX CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried causing this crypto to rise again.
The other three cryptocurrencies that have fallen the most this year are solana (-93%), which circulates on a blockchain that has been down 6 times this year. The blockchain closely linked to FTX continues its free fall. For its part, Axie Infinity is down 93% in a year, largely due to a late March $650 million hack on the Ronin blockchain. Finally, Sand, the original token of the decentralized platform The Sandbox, fell by 92%.