The total cryptocurrency market cap has reached $600 billion for the first time, a new all-time high. The milestone comes as bitcoin continues to surge.
The value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation surged past $600 billion on Sunday, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. Bitcoin alone makes up 58% of that total, with a market cap of $348 billion, having surged more than 2,000% since the turn of the year.*
It was recently noted that the total cryptocurrency market cap had hit $600 billion, a new all-time high, with bitcoin taking up a 46% share of the total cryptocurrency market cap. The next largest cryptocurrencies by market cap are Ethereum ($31.9B), Bitcoin Cash ($16.6B) and Ripple ($14.6B).
This figure amounts to a 545% rise in value for the total cryptocurrency market cap over 2017.
The increase in price for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been driven by speculation as well as widespread adoption of altcoins by countries such as Japan. Japan’s acceptance of altcoins such as Ethereum and Ripple has led to these coins being traded on several exchanges, including Coincheck and Bitbank, which accept yen.
It is important to note that this figure does not account for the value of crypto-assets such as Filecoin or Golem token (GNT), which are not yet tradeable on any major exchange. These assets are worth billions of dollars as measured by their Initial Coin Offering (ICO) prices last year and have not yet been factored into the total cryptocurrency market cap because they have no public markets yet.
The cryptocurrency market appears to be hitting new heights almost daily. The total market cap of the entire digital currency sector has now breached $600 billion, a figure that was unimaginable even six months ago. Meanwhile, bitcoin has increased fourfold as it has risen from under $1,000 at the start of 2017.
The phenomenal growth in the value of cryptocurrencies has also been accompanied by a boom in initial coin offerings (ICOs), where startups issue their own tokens to investors in exchange for cash or other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or ethereum.
More than $2 billion in funding has been raised via ICOs this year, compared with $96 million last year and just $12 million in 2015, according to Novum Insights.
Cryptocurrency markets have continued to enjoy a relatively stable 24 hours, with Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin all reporting moderate gains between 4-6 percent, while Bitcoin has remained at around $16,500.
This means that cryptocurrency market cap has now exceeded $600 billion for the first time in history, representing a fully six-fold increase from the figure of $100 billion in April.
All of the top 10 cryptocurrencies are currently in the green, although the vast majority have reported only modest gains between 1-5 percent. Only Ripple has significantly surpassed this threshold with a 15 percent rise over the last 24 hours.
This post is the opinion of the author and not intended to be investment advice.
The cryptocurrency market continues its remarkable rally, reaching a new all-time high above $600 billion. The total cryptocurrency market cap reached highs of $604 billion over the weekend, up from lows of around $200 billion in May.
At press time, however, major cryptocurrencies had pulled back slightly. Bitcoin, which accounts for more than half of cryptocurrency market cap and is generally considered a bellwether for the rest of the market, had fallen to around $17,000 at press time after posting an all-time high just under $20,000 last week.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading at around $700 at press time after earlier crossing $800 for the first time since December 9th. Ripple’s XRP token was trading just over $1.00 at press time after rising above that figure for the first time since mid-December.
Several altcoins posted strong gains over the weekend as well. Bitcoin Cash hit a new all-time high of around $2,480 on Sunday; IOTA hit a new all-time high above $5.00 on Saturday; Monero hit a new all-time high above $
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has been on a wild ride lately, but the digital currency is still far and away the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The total value of all bitcoins in existence is about $263 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
But bitcoin has been increasingly challenged by other “altcoins,” as they’re called in crypto circles. And while the BTC share of the overall market cap has fallen to 38 percent from 80 percent earlier this year, according to CoinMarketCap, it remains the most valuable cryptocurrency.
The growing interest in bitcoin and other digital currencies has led to the emergence of thousands of other coins and tokens built on the blockchain technology that underpins them. Some have been designed with specific purposes in mind, such as Ripple’s ability to move money quickly across borders or Ethereum’s smart contracts. But others have introduced entirely new concepts that are not necessarily closely related to what bitcoin was meant for.
As a result, altcoins now account for more than half of the total value of all cryptocurrencies combined, at $336 billion from 3760 coins and tokens. That includes $144 billion from Ethereum alone, which is closing in on bitcoin’s lead and could pass it soon if current trends continue. The total combined market cap for all cryptocurrencies surpassed $600
The total market capitalization of all the cryptocurrencies in the world has surpassed $600 billion for the first time in history, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The milestone comes as most of the major cryptocurrencies are trading close to their all-time highs.
On Thursday, Bitcoin hit a record high of $19,800 on some exchanges while Ethereum is trading around $730 and Ripple topped out near $2.10.
Cryptocurrency fans have been eagerly awaiting the launch of bitcoin futures on two US exchanges, which are expected to happen by this weekend.