Bitcoin ended the month of November down 7% but hedge funds with a more diverse portfolio of cryptocurrencies only dropped 2% for the period according to the Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index.
According to Bloomberg, the outperformance may suggest that altcoins could offer investors better returns than Bitcoin which has currently fallen 29% from its all-time high.
The analysts used Ethereum as an example and stated that Bitcoin’s year-to-date performance could not compete with the former.
Bitcoin vs Altcoins
At the time of writing, Bitcoin had gained 69% since its January 1 price of around $29K. Comparatively, Ethereum is up 445% since New Year’s day when it traded around $740.
A comparison can also be made with the total market capitalization of all crypto assets which has also outperformed Bitcoin this year with a gain of just over 200%. Bloomberg stated that the same was true for crypto hedge funds:
“Similarly, the data bears out the same theme for crypto hedge funds. The Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund index – made of 18 equal weighted members – is up 170% the year ended November.”
The Eurekahedge fund performed even better in 2020 with a 200% gain. However, Bitcoin was king in 2020 with a gain of around 300% over the course of the year.
These gains are tiny compared with some of the other altcoins which have literally gone ballistic in 2021. Solana’s SOL token has surged a whopping 11,544% since the beginning of the year making it the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Terra’s LUNA token is up 9,438% so far this year, Avalanche’s AVAX has pumped 3,171%, while Polygon’s MATIC has made a monumental 11,819% since January 1.
Crypto Market Outlook
Crypto markets are currently bouncing back a little following a fortnight of losses. The total market cap is up 3.6% on the day to $2.37 trillion according to CoinGecko.
Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $49,421 following the FED’s decision to speed up the tapering of asset purchases. BTC has started to consolidate around the $48K zone just above support at the 200-day moving average.
Ethereum has reclaimed $4,000 following a gain of 4.7% over the past 24 hours. Other solid performers include SOL with a 10% push to reach $177, and AVAX increasing 17% to trade at $105.