Markets Insider

Ethereum is the best performing major cryptocurrency so far in 2018.

The second-largest coin by market cap has gained 46% since January 1, compared to the overall market's 15% drop.



The global cryptocurrency market might have lost 15% - or $93 billion of value - since January 1, but not all coins have declined equally.

Ethereum has fared well in 2018, avoiding the drastic selling that has left other coins in the red. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is up more than 46% this year, according to Markets Insider data, far outpacing bitcoin’s 25% decline.

XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency, controlled largely by its creating company Ripple, is down more than 45% since January 1.

Cryptocurrencies worth less than $1 billion haven't fared well either. The fourth-largest digital coin, bitcoin cash, has plunged 35.9% so far this year.

2018 has been marked by wild price movements, often over 10% in either direction, as fears of regulation in the US and abroad routinely wipe out billions of dollars in market value on any given day. That’s a near complete departure from 2017, a year in which prices seemed to move upward at a breakneck pace.

"The state of cryptocurrency is incredibly strong," Andy Bromberg, CEO of CoinList, an ICO hosting platform, told Business Insider. "Looking far beyond the prices, we're seeing an increasing number of high-quality projects in the space, with experienced teams, impressive early technological breakthroughs, and rigorous legal structuring.

"We expect to see this continue into 2018 as the industry matures and professionalizes -- a necessary step for it at this time."

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'