CoinGecko, a crypto evaluation, and ranking site recently released a report analyzing how the cryptocurrency market has fared in the first quarter of 2019.

Last year may have been filled with plummeting virtual currency prices. However, from the report, 2019 started on the right footing with the CoinGecko’s founders projecting a positive vibe in the first three months.

While the vibe has been evident across the crypto assets market, there are a few exciting things that happened around this time. Without further ado let’s take a look at some of the exciting events so far;

The MimbleWimble Protocol Finds A Host

MimbleWimble is a protocol that is geared towards a privacy-centric cryptocurrency. The first month of 2019 saw the MimbleWimble protocol utilized by two coins; Grin and Beam. However, how the protocol was implemented on either of the coins was different.

For example, Beam used a C++ code base while Grin used a Rust codebase. The cryptocurrency community was anxiously waiting for the official launch of Grin more than Beam though.

One of the reasons why Grin floored Beam was because Grin miners get 100 percent of the payouts while Beam miners get only 80 percent of the payouts.

Even before these two coins were launched, discussions were already picking up around why MimbleWimble was the best cypherpunk protocol ever to exist so far.

But Why MimbleWimble?

This protocol, unlike other protocols used by privacy-focused coins, does not need additional layers on top of the base protocol to initiate the privacy effect. Add-ons are eliminated since the protocol is a unique blend of different innovations in cryptography. These include, but are not limited to, cut-throughs, coinjoin, and confidential transactions.

The Launch Of Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs)

The end of January also saw the launch of IEOs. Their uptake was incredible. For example, BitTorrent issued an initial exchange offering, and within 15 minutes it was sold out.

IEOs differ from ICOs (initial coin offering) in many ways. For example, an IEO utilizes an exchange’s website for the token sale while an ICO utilizes the issuer’s website, IEO’s crowdsale counterparty is the exchange while for an ICO it’s the token issuer, an IEO is screened on the exchange it is being issued on while an ICO does not go through screening. Additionally, an IEO token is immediately listed on the exchange while an ICO token has to await listing with no guarantee of being listed.

The Binance LaunchPad

Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange by adjusted volume, created a platform dedicated to issuing initial exchange offerings called the Binance LaunchPad. BitTorrent took advantage of the launch pad which saw the Bittorent token sold within a record fifteen minutes.

BitTorrent had allocated close to 60 billion (59.4 billion) tokens for sale on the Binance LaunchPad. The sale raised $7.2 million. Other firms which have since used the platform to issue an IEO include Fetch and Celer. Fetch raised $6 million in 22 seconds for selling 69.2 million tokens while Celer sold 597 million tokens in 17 minutes attracting $4 million.

The success of IEOs on the LaunchPad prompted other exchanges to try and replicate the same.

For example, leading cryptocurrency exchanges like Huobi and KuCoin have already developed and issued IEOs on similar platforms.

The effectiveness of an initial exchange offering has also been seen on newer launch pads. For example, Top chain issued an IEO on Huobi attracting $3.4 million in 19 seconds. Additionally, an IEO on KuCoin was sold out within seven seconds and raised $3.6 million.

The Lightning Network Gets A Boost

The Lightning Network also featured on CoinGecko’s Q1 report of 2019. The network is built as an additional layer on a blockchain. Its primary function is to facilitate low-cost transactions instantly. This is viewed as a scaling option for Bitcoin and Litecoin.

The Lightning Network gained momentum towards mid-January 2019 when Hodlonaut started a campaign on Twitter to bring out the benefits of the network. The campaigned was named Lightning Torch. Hodlonaut handled over the torch by sending 100,000 satoshis. As per the rules, once you received the torch, you were to add 10,000 satoshis and pass it over to another person. However, the next person on the queue was determined by the person currently holding the torch.

The Lightning Torch is also known as the Lightning Network Trust Chain. From January 19 to April 11, 2019, the torch has recorded 291 Hops, 282 unique recipients, and has traversed across 56 countries.

Among top figures in the crypto asset industry who received, and passed, the torch includes the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey,  Monero’s core developer, Riccardo Spagni, Shapeshift’s CEO, Erick Voorhees, and Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao. CoinGecko was also among the recipients.

At the end of three months in the campaign, Hodlonaut noted:

“The journey has surpassed my wildest imagination, and I feel it has put the wonderful character of the community on display. It has also showcased what may be the greatest promise of BTC/LN, to bring people around the world closer together.”

Where We Stand After Three Months According to Coingecko

The CoinGecko Q1 report painted a picture of a revived market. Three months into 2019 saw the total market capitalization rise by 16.23 percent with March being the top month. The market has recorded steady gains with no wild price fluctuations. The trading volume has also been on the rise.

The top performers were led by Litecoin (LTC), EOS (EOS), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) which recorded 103%, 66%, 11%, and 8% gains respectively.

From the report, altcoins performed better that Bitcoin with BTC dominance on the market falling by 1.5 percent. The market dominance of the top three coins fell by roughly 5 percent. However, in the first quarter of 2019, the top ten cryptocurrencies maintained a 91 percent dominance on the market capitalization.

Conclusion

From CoinGecko interesting takeaways, it is evident that initial exchange offerings are being appreciated due to their low-risk levels compared to initial coin offerings. The presence of a reliable platform to issue IEOs like the Binance LaunchPad has proved crucial to the success of IEOs.

The Lightning Network has been captured by the report as the much-needed scaling option for Bitcoin. If the current market status continues with the same momentum, 2019 is going to be a great year to be part of the crypto community.