Bitcoin and Litecoin are the best-performing cryptocurrencies in 2019.

2019 has been a roller coaster of a year for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole, with both huge gains and equally huge losses. Although Bitcoin and Litecoin are down about 50% from their year-to-date highs, they remain the best-performing assets of the year, significantly outperforming established markets, including the S&P500, which is up +17.23% year-to-date.

According to data from Tradingview and Barchart.com, Bitcoin is up +123% YTD and +288% when it reached its peak of $13,880 in June this year. Meanwhile, Litecoin is up +93% YTD and has reached +368% at a high of $145.63. As of now, Litecoin and Bitcoin are the top 1 and 2 best cryptocurrencies in 2019.

Third, fourth and fifth are BCH +54.85%, Ethereum 37.42% and Monero +22.11 respectively. On the other hand, the worst large-cap performers include Bitcoin Gold -37.13%, Zcash -33.84%, Ripple -22.76, and Dash -8.84%.

This may not be surprising to some, as Bitcoin and Litecoin are the earliest and oldest cryptocurrencies and have historically tended to follow each other in terms of price movements. In general, Litecoin has always outperformed Bitcoin and has been the more volatile of the two, with gains and declines. The fact that these two continue to remain closely correlated in this way relative to the rest of the cryptocurrency market is testament to the market’s faith in these assets.

Litecoin led the cryptocurrency market when it halved this year. With the Bitcoin halving scheduled for May 2020, many believe Litecoin will follow and take the lead, as it has done in the past. What is much less certain is whether others will follow them. The recent bear market and early recovery have been good indicators of market value, according to Warren Buffett.

“Only when the tide goes down do you find out who has been swimming naked.”