Cryptocurrencies Are Now Worth $600 Billion

Throughout history, there's been no better creator of long-term wealth than the stock market. Historically, the stock market returns about 7% annually, inclusive of dividend reinvestment and adjusted for inflation. This implies that invested funds should roughly double about once a decade over the long run. Not too shabby at all.

But these returns have proven almost laughably sluggish in 2017 thanks to the cryptocurrency market, which is now comprised of more than 1,360 digital tokens. According to data found at CoinMarketCap.com, the aggregate value of all virtual currencies combined briefly topped $600 billion on Dec. 17. Mind you, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies on Dec. 31, 2016, was just $17.7 billion, representing a nearly 3,300% increase through 11 1/2 months.

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Source: Fool.com