Most Steemit users are very familiar with the exciting world of cryptocurrencies but often find it difficult to explain to friends the huge implications and profitability of investing in such a radical and new industry. In trying to devise the best way to demonstrate the potential for gains I thought it would be interesting to look back at 2016 and see what would happen if we invested $100 in each of the top 7 cryptocurrencies ...... and heres what I found

January 1st 2016

Bitcoin $100 invested buys 0.24 of a coin

Ethereum $100 invested buys me 35 coins

Ripple $100 invested buys me 16212 coins

Litecoin $100 invested buys 29 coins

Monero $100 invested buys me 223 coins

Ethereum Classic $100 invested buys me 172 coins

Dash $100 invested buys me 38 coins

Total $700

Ok so thats $ 700 of hard earned fiat toilet paper invested ....... lets fast forward one year and see how our investment is paying off ....

January 1st 2017

Bitcoin ... 0.24 is now worth $220

Ethereum ... 35 coins are now worth $256

Ripple ... 16212 coins are now worth $102

Litecoin ... 29 coins are now worth $127

Monero ... 223 coins are now worth $2315

Ethereum Classic ... 172 coins are now worth $181

Dash ... 38 coins are now worth $367

Total $3,568

So in one year a $700 investment returns $3568 thats over 500% proving crypto to be one of the worlds best performing assets in 2016.

Lets not finish there though , we all know that 2017 has seen huge gains and this year looks like the real launch pad for the industry so lets check on our initial investment 5 months into this year. So this is $700 invested and a time period as of today of 17 months .......

May 24th 2017

Bitcoin ... 0.24 is now worth $572

Ethereum ... 35 coins are now worth $6670

Ripple ... 16212 coins are now worth $5715

Litecoin ... 29 coins are now worth $994

Monero ... 223 coins are now worth $12242

Ethereum Classic ... 172 coins are now worth $2536

Dash ... 38 coins are now worth $5650

Total $34,378

Well there you go the figures speak for themselves , thats nearly a 5000% increase in under a year and a half and its only just begun. There are still plenty of lower priced coins with the potential to increase exponentially as well as the overall trend for all crypto being overwhelmingly up, Bitcoin continues to reach all time highs as does Dash and Ethereum and Zcash and Monero ...... Who knows what is to come but what I can say assuredly is if you havnt invested at least a small amount in these technologies as little as $700 then you are potentially missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. Be smart jump on the rocket now or youll miss the trip to the moon.