Bitcoin Missed the List? Top 10 Best-Performing Cryptocurrencies of 2019 Revealed

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The cryptocurrency market has been anything but quiet since the beginning of 2019. After starting the year with a total market capitalization of around $130 billion, a surge in investor interest fueled a bullish rally that pushed the combined value of all digital assets to an impressive $373 billion by July. Although the momentum cooled in the second half of the year, the market stabilized just below the $200 billion mark—demonstrating resilience amid volatility.

Despite Bitcoin’s dominance in name recognition and market share, it didn’t make the cut for the top 10 best-performing cryptocurrencies of 2019. Instead, a wave of innovative altcoins and ecosystem-driven tokens outpaced it in terms of percentage growth. Let’s dive into the standout performers that defined the year, their unique value propositions, and what drove their impressive price surges.

ChainLink (LINK): Bridging Blockchains and Real-World Data

ChainLink (LINK) emerged as the top-performing cryptocurrency of 2019, delivering a staggering 500%+ return against the U.S. dollar and over 300% against Bitcoin.

Designed as a decentralized oracle network, ChainLink connects smart contracts on blockchains with real-world data sources—such as stock prices, weather information, or sports results—enabling trustless, automated execution of agreements based on external triggers. This functionality addresses one of blockchain’s most persistent challenges: how to securely access off-chain data.

While LINK started the year slowly—climbing modestly from $0.31 to $0.45 between January and May—it exploded in July, peaking at $3.74. Although it pulled back in the following months, it held strong above $1.90 by year-end, reflecting sustained confidence in its utility and adoption.

👉 Discover how decentralized oracles are transforming smart contract reliability.

Binance Coin (BNB): More Than Just an Exchange Token

Binance Coin (BNB), launched in 2017, posted a 140%+ gain in 2019. Originally created to reduce trading fees on the Binance exchange, BNB has evolved into a multi-functional utility token within one of the world’s largest crypto ecosystems.

Holders enjoy discounts on trading fees, participation in exclusive token sales (via Binance Launchpad), and even payment options for travel bookings and entertainment services through Binance’s expanding partnerships.

BNB’s price trajectory was volatile: starting at around $6, it surged to $35.20 by late May—a rise of over 450%. However, a sharp correction in Q3 brought it down to $15.79 before stabilizing near $14 by December.

This resilience highlights strong underlying demand driven by continuous platform innovation and real-world use cases.

Tezos (XTZ): On-Chain Governance in Action

Tezos delivered a 190%+ return in 2019, positioning itself as a leader in self-amending blockchain technology. Unlike networks that require hard forks for upgrades, Tezos uses a formal on-chain governance model where stakeholders vote on proposed protocol changes—ensuring smoother evolution without community splits.

As a proof-of-stake platform supporting smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), Tezos attracted developers seeking stability and long-term sustainability.

Starting the year at $0.47, XTZ climbed to $1.06 by March and peaked at $1.88 in Q2. Despite a pullback in Q3, it maintained support around $1.51—indicating solid investor confidence in its governance model and developer activity.

Synthetix Network Token (SNX): Powering Synthetic Assets

Synthetix Network Token (SNX) achieved over 200% growth in 2019. As an ERC-20 token built on Ethereum, SNX enables users to mint synthetic assets—called "Synths"—that track the value of real-world assets like gold, stocks, or fiat currencies.

Users lock SNX as collateral to create Synths, allowing exposure to traditional markets without owning the underlying asset. This innovative approach helped position Synthetix as a pioneer in decentralized finance (DeFi).

After languishing below $0.07 for the first four months, SNX began a powerful rally in May, eventually reaching $1.33 by year-end—despite a brief dip during broader market corrections.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH): The Scalability-Focused Fork

Bitcoin Cash, a hard fork of Bitcoin focused on faster and cheaper transactions, gained over 30% in 2019.

With larger block sizes (32MB vs Bitcoin’s 1MB), BCH aims to function as peer-to-peer electronic cash rather than just digital gold. It hit early momentum in April when prices broke $300, peaking at $479.96 in late June.

However, declining interest in the second half led to a drop below $200 by December, settling around $195. While not matching its peak performance, BCH maintained relevance among payment-focused crypto users.

Cosmos (ATOM): The Internet of Blockchains

Cosmos (ATOM) made headlines with its ambitious vision: creating an "Internet of Blockchains" where independent chains can communicate seamlessly via the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

Launched in March 2019, ATOM started trading at just $0.001 and soared to over **$4.20**—a massive increase driven by excitement around interoperability and scalability solutions.

Its rapid rise in May reflected strong developer engagement and anticipation for cross-chain functionality—a critical need in an increasingly fragmented blockchain landscape.

Litecoin (LTC): Digital Silver Rises Again

Often dubbed "digital silver" to Bitcoin’s "digital gold," Litecoin gained approximately 40% in 2019.

Known for faster block times and lower fees than Bitcoin, LTC saw its price jump from $32 to $141.73 by mid-June before retracing to around $43 by year-end.

Despite the correction, Litecoin remained a trusted payment option and benefited from growing merchant adoption and integration with major wallets and exchanges.

Basic Attention Token (BAT): Rewarding User Attention

Basic Attention Token (BAT) rose about 35% in 2019, powered by adoption within the Brave browser ecosystem.

Brave rewards users with BAT tokens for opting into privacy-respecting ads—creating a new model for digital advertising that cuts out intermediaries and returns value directly to users.

Developed by Brendan Eich (creator of JavaScript), Brave offers a Chromium-based browsing experience with enhanced privacy features. After peaking at $0.44 in April, BAT dipped but regained stability near $0.17 by December.

👉 See how blockchain is reshaping online privacy and digital advertising.

Ether (ETH): The Foundation of DeFi

Ether (ETH), the native token of Ethereum, gained roughly 20% in 2019—underperforming some altcoins but remaining central to the ecosystem’s growth.

As developers refer to Ethereum as the “world computer,” ETH powers smart contracts and decentralized applications—including nearly all ERC-20 tokens like LINK, SNX, and BAT.

After climbing from $116 in January to a high of $334.66 in July, ETH settled into a range between $130 and $150 by year-end—reflecting maturation amid ongoing network upgrades and rising DeFi activity.

EOS: High-Performance dApp Platform

EOS closed 2019 with a 10% gain, maintaining steady relevance among developers building high-throughput decentralized applications.

With delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus and feeless transactions, EOS offers fast processing speeds ideal for gaming and social platforms.

Starting at $2.23, it jumped to $8.50 in May before retracing to trade stably around $2.55 by December—showcasing resilience despite increased competition from newer Layer 1 blockchains.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Why didn’t Bitcoin make the top 10 list?
A: While Bitcoin remained the most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap, its price increased only modestly compared to high-growth altcoins. Many newer projects saw explosive gains due to ecosystem developments, DeFi trends, or exchange incentives—outpacing BTC’s more stable performance.

Q: What factors contributed to ChainLink’s massive rally?
A: ChainLink’s surge was fueled by growing institutional interest in oracle solutions, integration with major platforms like Google Cloud and SWIFT, and increasing demand for reliable off-chain data feeds in DeFi applications.

Q: Is Binance Coin backed by real utility?
A: Yes. BNB isn't just for fee discounts—it's used across Binance’s ecosystem for token launches, payments, staking, and more. Its deflationary model (quarterly buybacks) also adds scarcity-driven value.

Q: What makes Tezos different from Ethereum?
A: Tezos uses on-chain governance to allow protocol upgrades without hard forks. This self-correcting mechanism helps avoid community splits and supports long-term sustainability.

Q: Can synthetic assets like Synthetix replace traditional financial instruments?
A: Not fully yet—but they offer accessible, permissionless exposure to assets like gold or stocks without intermediaries. As DeFi matures, such platforms could play a larger role in global finance.

Q: Are these gains sustainable beyond 2019?
A: Some projects have strong fundamentals and ongoing development—like ChainLink and Cosmos—while others depend on market cycles. Long-term success hinges on adoption, security, and real-world use case expansion.

👉 Explore secure ways to track and manage top-performing digital assets today.

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