It seems almost too much to imagine, but the market cap for Bitcoin alone has now reached over $300 bln. The combined market cap for all cryptocurrencies is quickly closing in on $450 bln.
Just two weeks ago the market cap for all cryptocurrencies crossed the $300 bln mark, with Bitcoin holding strong dominance of that market. However, since that time, Bitcoin’s meteoric rise has left the rest of the market in the dust, with its own market cap nearly doubling in the past two weeks.
Factors
The price rise to over $17,000 has been the cause of the market cap growth, as substantial amounts of money have entered the marketplace. The prospect of Bitcoin entering futures markets both in the US and abroad has provided a reason for institutional investors to participate in a significant way.
While cries of a bubble continue to be made public, others such as investor Mark Yusko suggest that the price has only just begun to rise. Bitcoin’s continuous front-page coverage in mainstream media only helps. Even if the coverage is negative, it gets people thinking about the currency.
At press time, Bitcoin was trading on GDAX at $17,340.