Cryptocurrencies got off to a slow start this year, due to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulation prohibiting banks from trading in crypto.

The cryptocurrency market exploded after the Supreme Court overturned the RBI's ban in March, allowing traders to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies.

Several online exchanges have sprung up since then, including CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX. However, considering the tremendous volatility of most cryptocurrencies, investing in these virtual assets requires caution. Examining the historical data of these coins is one approach to do so.

The performance of cryptocurrencies in recent weeks and months can provide insight into their potential in the near future and whether a person should invest now or wait.

So far, this financial year (as of April 1) have been performed by the top five digital coins:

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the world's oldest cryptocurrency. It has remained the undisputed leader of the cryptocurrency sector since its inception in 2009. It was selling around Rs. 42 lakhs on April 1 this year, but by May end, around the time the market fell due to a Chinese crackdown on mining operations, it had dropped to Rs. 22 lakhs. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has recovered. It was worth roughly Rs. 37 lakhs on September 17.

Ethereum

Experts say, this is the only virtual currency that has a chance to challenge Bitcoin's dominance, but it is still a long way from realising its full potential. Ethereum was trading at Rs. 1.40 lakhs at the start of this fiscal year. It had surpassed the Rs. 2-lakh mark by early August. The Ethereum blockchain had a major London update around this time. It has continued to appreciate in value since then. It was trading at Rs. 2.76 lakhs at the time of writing on September 17.

Cardano

Cardano, which was launched in 2017, is a relatively new cryptocurrency coin that has quickly risen to the top five. Cardano, which is billed as a third-generation blockchain (Bitcoin and Ethereum are the first and second generations, respectively), gave returns of almost 150 percent in just one month. It was trading at Rs. 79.71 on July 20, but by August, it had risen to Rs. 191.41. It went on to gain much more in the following weeks, reaching an all-time high of Rs. 227 at the beginning of this month. However, since then, the increases have started to fall off. It was trading at Rs. 187.82 at the time of writing on September 17.

Tether

Tether is a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. It is the most popular stablecoin because it is the first. It is highly stable in comparison to other cryptocurrencies since it is tied to the dollar, which means that every Tether currency should be backed by actual dollars in Tether Limited's reserves. If this stability is predictable, it also limits the capacity to quickly increase wealth. This financial year, it has stayed in the Rs. 73–75 range. On September 17, it was trading at roughly Rs. 77.

Ripple

In terms of market capitalization, it is the seventh most valuable cryptocurrency. Ripple is not a cryptocurrency in the traditional sense. It allows open-source payments to be made, and XRP is the cryptocurrency that operates on it. Its price has risen from Rs. 41 to Rs. 80 since April 1. However, it has not had a surge like the one that drove it to an all-time high of Rs 242 in early January 2018. It was trading about Rs. 84 at the time of writing.