We aren’t seeing too much market activity for cryptocurrencies in the top 10, other than altcoins going in the deep red. That doesn’t mean the other currencies aren’t worth paying attention to either, though. The Stratis price, for example, is approaching the US$10 mark for the second time in its history. That is remarkable growth, considering the Bitcoin price is destroying all previous records. At this rate, it is only a matter of time until we see a new all-time high Stratis price.

Massive Gains for Stratis

Whenever Bitcoin is obliterating altcoins, it is only a matter of time until one currency bucks the trend. So far, no top ten coin has made any impact in this regard, but the 19th largest currency by market capitalization is a different story altogether. In fact, it is the only currency noting any solid gains against both USD and BTC right now. Most of the top 20 coins by market cap have gone in the red over the last 24 hours, some by double digits.

Most readers will have heard of Stratis by now, even though few people seemingly talk about it. This cryptocurrency has made somewhat of a name for itself thanks to a strong focus on privacy and anonymity for both STRAT and Bitcoin transactions. Moreover, the Breeze Wallet is inching closer to finally being released. Whether or not that will be a major success has yet to be determined at this stage. However, it opens up a lot of interesting opportunities for supported currencies.

Things have been relatively quiet on the Stratis front these past few months. After the altcoin peaked above US$12 for the first time in June of this year, the price quickly dropped back down to US$2.50 in the following weeks. Two attempts at surpassing US$7.50 were rejected fairly quickly, and the price struggled to stay above US$2.75 until very recently. Momentum picked up in November again, and the markets are now exceedingly bullish. With a Stratis price of US$9.72, it is only a matter of time until that value is pushed back down.

Additionally, Stratis has pretty solid trading volume compared to some other currencies right now. With over US$128.7 million worth of volume in the past 24 hours, things aren’t looking all that bad. One has to keep in mind that altcoins are not popular markets right now, especially not when the Bitcoin price is pushing toward US$20,000. Despite the odds, the Stratis price has gained nearly 40% and 20% against USD and BTC respectively.

Given the lack of fiat currency gateways for Stratis right now, it’s not surprising to see that Bittrex is the leading cryptocurrency exchange for this altcoin. This further hints that we are looking at a pump-and-dump cycle affecting this currency right now, although nothing has been set in stone just yet. With most of the volume coming from Bitcoin and Ethereum trading markets, it is highly unlikely any major price shifts will occur in the days to come.

It is remarkable how some coins have succeeded in gaining value with minor momentum, whereas the established currencies are struggling right now. There is plenty of price manipulation across all cryptocurrency markets. The Stratis price is no exception in this regard, as there is nothing organic about the growth we are seeing whatsoever. Cryptocurrency is a good way to make a lot of money, but one should take profits accordingly as well.