The burgeoning global cryptocurrency market is outstripping long-established companies in terms of market capitalization. Who knows, maybe soon there will be no true rivals left if digital currencies continue the fabulous growth.
Following an incredible surge in bitcoin’s price, the aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies hit a record high of $500 billion, surpassing Alibaba with a market valuation of $447.3 billion. The total market cap of digital assets is set to overtake that of Apple ($881.6 billion), Alphabet ($725.8 billion), Microsoft ($660.2 billion), Amazon ($561.4 billion) and Facebook ($514.2 billion).
A sharp rise in popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies boosted their price. The more popular the cryptos are, the more valuable they are. Meanwhile, their legal status varies depending on the country. Thus, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen called the digital currency bitcoin a “highly speculative asset” that “does not constitute legal tender.”
The great cryptocurrency race has its leaders. Bitcoin remains the dominant cryptocurrency with $282 billion market cap, half of the total crypto market. Coming second is ethereum, with a total of $69 billion market value. Rounding out the top five are: bitcoin cash ($31.6 billion), ripple ($21.4 billion), and litecoin ($16.3 billion).
