The cryptocurrency market cap industry-wide topped $300 billion for the first time in history, drawing strength from a rallying bitcoin.
The total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies has exceeded $300 billion for the first time, primarily driven by bitcoin’s recent bull-run.
The aggregate market cap of all existing cryptocurrencies broke the $200 billion mark on November 3, 2017, and first climbed past $100 billion in June. To put things into perspective and get a better idea of the extraordinary pace of growth in the cryptocurrency space, the total market was valued at only $17.7 billion on January 1, 2017 and close to $14 billion on November 27, 2016. That means a 2078% increase on the year and 1694% up YTD.
Bitcoin (BTC) jumped above $9,000 yesterday and logged new all-time highs since. At press time, bitcoin is up 8.51% on the day against the dollar, at $9773.20. Bitcoin’s current market value stands at over $163 billion, accounting for more than 53% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. Bitcoin was pinned at only $765 on November 27, 2016. The cryptocurrency picked up an eye-watering 1219.02% on the year and 898.33% year to date.
Ethereum (ETH) is still the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. At press time, ETH inched up 6.18% on the day against the dollar, at $488.73, with a market cap just shy of $50 billion. Ether also surged to a fresh ATH over the weekend, trading at $485.19 around 01:30 UTC on November 25. Valued at little over $9 on November 27, 2016, ETH edged up a staggering 5441.84% on the year and 5926.75% YTD.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is in third place, with a market cap of roughly $30 billion. BCH also gained against the dollar, picking up 5.11% on the day, currently trading at $1686.97. Valued at $278 at the time of creation, on August 1, BCH gained 506% against the dollar since. For the month, BCH is up 297.99% against the dollar.
Other altcoins have also set record dollar-value highs over the past days, and the uptrend seems to be firmly in place, undeterred for the time being.
Total cryptocurrency market cap exceeds $300 billion – Image source: BTC Keychain/Flickr