It has been an exciting weekend for all cryptocurrencies so far. While most altcoins have lost all of their recent gains over the past 36 hours, the bigger picture shouldn’t be overlooked whatsoever. All cryptocurrencies in circulation are worth over US$200 billion combined right now. That’s a major step forward from the US$40 billion market capitalization we saw earlier this year. It is evident Bitcoin is still the king of the hill, and that situation will not change whatsoever.
Cryptocurrencies are Booming Despite Volatility
Even though the overall cryptocurrency market cap has finally surpassed the US$200 billion mark, these markets aren’t any less volatile than before. In fact, there has been more volatility these past few weeks compared to what we saw throughout most of 2017. This situation is mainly affecting altcoins, though, as they are all struggling to maintain their price levels right now.
Although things may look pretty bleak for most altcoins right now, they are also a contributing factor to the US$200 billion total market cap. Bitcoin represents the vast majority of this valuation, of course, as all bitcoins in circulation are worth over US$125 billion right now. That in itself is a pretty spectacular number, considering the total cryptocurrency market cap was under US$50 billion not too long ago.
To that end, the Bitcoin Dominance Index has been pushed up once again. Right now, this index sits at 62.5%, clearly indicating that Bitcoin is the go-to cryptocurrency and little else matters these days. To be sure, it is only a matter of time until the top altcoins recover in value. The Bitcoin price is still mainly driven by speculation, and it is very likely we will see a price correction around the time of the SegWit2x hard fork.
Interestingly enough, there are only two cryptocurrencies with market caps above US$10 billion right now. Ethereum still sits in second place, with a total valuation of just under US$28.5 billion. Bitcoin Cash is still third, but its cap lost nearly US$1.3 billion over the past 48 hours. This is not entirely surprising, as the value of BCH was heavily inflated all week. Things are now returning to normal, as its trading volume is quickly drying up. It will be interesting to see which coin will be next to rival Ethereum in terms of market cap.
It is evident this is a major milestone for cryptocurrency as a whole. While a total valuation of US$200 billion may seem like a lot, it is still a drop in the bucket when looking at traditional companies and instruments. Until cryptocurrency reaches US$1 trillion, very few people will pay attention to developments like this one. The growth throughout 2017 has been pretty spectacular, to say the very least. Going from under US$20 billion on January 1 all the way to US$201 billion on November 5 is incredibly remarkable.
As is always the case, the bigger question is whether or not this momentum can be sustained in the long run. While some people predict that prices will keep on rising, it is doubtful there won’t be a correction. The Bitcoin price is especially likely to see a retracement of some sort, although it remains to be seen how things will play out. When this correction happens, altcoins will pick up the slack again, though.
