Bitcoin

OTCMarkets: Number One Company in 2017 was Bitcoin Investment Trust

OTC Markets Group, an ATS that lists 10,000 U.S. and global securities, has shared their 2018 OTCQX Best 50, a ranking of top performing OTCQX companies in 2017.  This annual ranking of the top 50 U.S. and international companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market is based on an equal weighting of one-year total return and average daily dollar volume growth.

It probably should not come as any surprise but the top ranked company was cryptocurrency related. Specifically, Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCQX: GBTC).

Bitcoin Investment Trust is a private, open-ended trust that is invests exclusively in bitcoin. Investors may gain exposure to the price movement of Bitcoin without the hassle of creating a wallet. The BIT’s sponsor is Grayscale Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group – which is Barry Silbert’s current gig. Silbert was originally of Second Market fame, which was acquired by NASDAQ, and then he moved big into the cryptocurrency space.

Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group, commented on the OTC rankings;

“This year’s roster of companies represented a wide range of sectors and industries, from global markets and innovators such as the Bitcoin Investment Trust, to established community banks, airlines and resources. These leading companies represent a diverse landscape of issuers from around the globe and here in the U.S. We are pleased to congratulate our 2018 OTCQX Best 50 companies on their stellar performance and their commitment to providing a premium, efficient trading market that serves their investor base.”

Overall, the 2018 OTCQX Best 50 companies traded an aggregate $19.9 billion in dollar volume in 2017.  The companies delivered to investors an average total return of 120%.

The top performing International company ranked at #2 was Amerigo Resources Ltd. (OTCQX: ARREF). OTC Markets pointed out that twenty-one regional and community banks were included in this year’s list. Nine companies from last year’s ranking remained on the list in 2018.

The list in its entirety is below.

Rank

Company

Symbol

1

Bitcoin Investment Trust

GBTC

2

Amerigo Resources Ltd.

ARREF

3

Novo Resources Corp

NSRPF

4

Village Farms International Inc.

VFFIF

5

Mission Valley Bancorp

MVLY

6

Immunovaccine Inc.

IMMVF

7

Kroton Educacional SA

KROTY

8

CIBT Education Group, Inc.

MBAIF

9

First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc.

FWVB

10

First Colebrook Bancorp, Inc.

FCNH

11

First Resource Bank (Exton, PA)

FRSB

12

OurPet’s Company

OPCO

13

F & M Bank Corp.

FMBM

14

Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc.

BHWB

15

PBB Bancorp

PBCA

16

Excelsior Mining Corp.

EXMGF

17

Critical Elements Corp

CRECF

18

Estacio Participacoes S.A.

ECPCY

19

Prime Meridian Holding Co.

PMHG

20

Oncolytics Biotech Inc.

ONCYF

21

Corvus Gold, Inc.

CORVF

22

Nemaska Lithium, Inc.

NMKEF

23

Mason Graphite Inc.

MGPHF

24

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

IVPAF

25

Starpharma Holdings Ltd.

SPHRY, SPHRF

26

Commencement Bank (WA)

CBWA

27

Parkway Acquisition Corp

PKKW

28

Meritage Hospitality Group, Inc.

MHGU

29

Royal Financial, Inc.

RYFL

30

Columbus Gold Corp.

CBGDF

31

Northern Graphite Corp.

NGPHF

32

Deutsche Lufthansa AG

DLAKY,DLAKF

33

Suncrest Bank (Visalia, CA)

SBKK

34

Coastal Banking Company, Inc.

CBCO

35

Repro Med Systems, Inc.

REPR

36

FVCBankcorp, Inc.

FVCB

37

BNP Paribas

BNPQY,BNPQF

38

Kentucky Bancshares, Inc.

KTYB

39

Air Canada

ACDVF

40

Riverview Financial Corp.

RIVE

41

Virginia National Bankshares Corporation

VABK

42

Katahdin Bankshares Corp.

KTHN

43

OmniComm Systems, Inc.

OMCM

44

Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc.

RCKXF

45

Freedom Bank of Virginia (Fairfax)

FDVA

46

Amazing Energy Oil & Gas Co.

AMAZ

47

FNCB Bancorp, Inc.

FNCB

48

Metso Corporation

MXCYY

49

First Priority Financial Corp.

FPBK

50

Smith-Midland Corp.

SMID