Litecoin Booms in February But 'Golden' Crypto Takes Price Podium

Dismal? Not quite, but the crypto markets had a rough ride in February.

What began with a sell-off in bitcoin, one that pushed the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies to a 10-week low of $276 billion, has ended in a seeming recovery, with the total value hitting $450 billion Thursday to end February trading.

Comparing performance to January, the market saw a decline of 8.5 percent month-over-month, and a decline of 45.78 percent from its 2018 record high of $830 billion.

That's not to say there weren't gains to be had. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, saw a "V-shaped" recovery, while fifth-place litecoin notched monthly gains.

Current market price: $559. Rank as per market capitalization: 25.

Courtesy of the meteoric increase, DGD is now the 25th largest cryptocurrency by per market capitalization, putting into large-cap territory.

Current market price: $208. Rank as per market capitalization: 5.

Litecoin clocked a high of $251.90 on Coinbase's GDAX exchange on Feb. 20 as investors bought in to make free money via the litecoin cash hard fork.

Airdrop aside, gains could be associated with Litecoin Founder Charlie Lee asserting his belief that the cryptocurrency could overtake bitcoin cash in market cap this year.

Having rallied more than 140 percent from the Feb. 6 low of $7.39, OmiseGo's ICO token ranks third on the list of gainers among top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.