Benzinga | Jan 3, 2021 11:34PM EST

Top 5 Smart Contract Platforms Are Outperforming Bitcoin Today

Cryptocurrencies backing the top five smart contract platforms have outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) in the trailing 24-hour period at press time, according to data from Messari.

Bitcoin, the world's apex cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, traded up 1% at $33,510.13 at press time. BTC had earlier crossed the $34,000 on its twelfth genesis block day.

The smart contract platforms outperforming it included Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA), EOS (EOS), TRON (TRX).

ETH traded 31.32% higher at $1,030.44 at press time. DOT was up 13.8% at $10.42.

ADA traded 28.5% higher at $0.23, while Tron was up 14.55% at $0.03.

Smart contracts --a concept developed by cryptographer Nick Szabo-- enable blockchain's use-case beyond digital assets by automatically allowing the execution of the terms of a contract without requiring an intermediary.

The smart contract platforms -- in particular, Ethereum -- had also seen heightened interest during the 2017-2018 rally.