The stock market has performed very well in the past year, and virtually anything investors have touched has turned to gold. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) total return over that stretch has been 30.8%.
However, as well as stocks have performed in the past 12 months, cryptocurrency returns have left the S&P 500 in the dust.
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Despite the extreme volatility in cryptocurrency prices and the relatively limited utility of cryptos as actual currency at this point, cryptocurrency investors that bought one year ago and held on for the long-term have generated tremendous overall gains.
Related Link: 3 Digital Currency Challenges Faced By Central Banks, Traditional Banks
One-Year Winners: Most top cryptocurrencies caught fire in early 2021, and some experts and analysts believe cryptos have actually replaced gold as the preferred inflationary hedge among younger investors. Even after crypto markets cooled off in recent months, HODLers from a year ago are still sitting on major gains.
Here’s how much $1,000 invested in each of the following cryptocurrencies on July 29, 2020, would be worth today.
- Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), $7,226.
- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), $3,603.
- Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC), $2,536.
- XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), $2,974.
- Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), $64,700.
Benzinga’s Take: If you're one of the many investors who has made a killing in the cryptocurrency market in the past few years, you should certainly feel proud of your gains, especially if you had the foresight to buy some of the top-performing cryptos mentioned above.
However, one of the easiest things to do in the financial world is making money during a bull market, so make sure to always manage risk appropriately and be prepared for the next crypto market downturn like the one that happened in 2018.
See also: How to Buy Bitcoin (BTC)