Record $3,375 Bitcoin Price Leads Crypto Market Cap Past $117 Billion
August has been an exciting month for the cryptocurrency markets. After successfully weathering the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, the bitcoin price has soared to a record-setting $3,375. The Ethereum price is also moving in the right direction following a sluggish July. These two factors have combined to lift the total crypto market cap to a new record.
As July ended and the UAHF approached, the total value of all cryptocurrencies sat below $90 billion. Since then, the crypto market cap has exploded to a new record. At present, the total crypto market cap is $117.8 billion.
Remarkably, both bitcoin and ethereum boast market caps larger than the entire crypto market cap was earlier this year.
Bitcoin Price Soars to Record Highs
Since the beginning of August, the bitcoin price has defied market uncertainty to climb by more than 20%. Over the weekend, the bitcoin price pierced the $3,200 mark to set a new record. It continued this advance on Monday, rising to a new high of $3,375. Could we soon see the fulfillment of Max Keiser’s prediction that $5,000 is “in sight?”
Bitcoin now has a market cap of $55.7 billion, which is larger than the total crypto market cap was at the beginning of May.
Ethereum Price Tops $270
Bitcoin’s gain has not come at the expense of ethereum. The ethereum price has also experienced a rapid climb during the early days of August, increasing 36% in the past week alone. On July 31, the ethereum price sat below $200. Today, on August 7, it has grown to $271.
Ethereum now has a market cap of $25.4 billion, which is larger than the entire crypto market cap was in late March.
Bitcoin Cash Price Languishes Below $300
Bitcoin cash quickly rose to $700 following its creation on August 1. As many traders expected, the bitcoin cash price crashed when exchanges began enabling BCH deposits and withdrawals. Some people saw this as proof that bitcoin cash is “a house of cards,” while proponents of the forked coin argue such volatility should be expected during its early days.
After plummeting 70%, bitcoin cash reached a price floor of about $200 and experienced steady support for that level. In the past day, the bitcoin cash price has begun to break out of its slump. It has risen 31% to a current value of $271 and a market cap of $4.5 billion but continues to languish below $300. Bitcoin cash currently sits at 4th in the market cap rankings.
NEM Passes Litecoin for 5th Place
Nearly every altcoin has reaped gains from bitcoin’s record-setting advance. The Ripple price rose 9% this week, placing it within striking distance of a $7 billion market cap.
The NEM price rose an incredible 69% to $0.276 and a $2.5 billion market cap. This enabled NEM to kick litecoin – which rose 11% to $46 – out of the market cap top 5.
The ethereum classic price saw a 7-day gain of 11%, while the Dash price returned 10%. IOTA and NEO both posted jaw-dropping climbs. The IOTA price rose 87% for the week to $0.476 following a major announcement, while the NEO price soared 161% to $19 and the 10th spot in the market cap rankings.
Bitcoin Cements Its Hold on the Market
The last time the crypto markets stretched past $115 billion, bitcoin’s share fell as low as 37%. This sparked speculation that ethereum would soon evict bitcoin from the top spot in rankings. Now – two months later – the markets have again reached a record-high, but bitcoin sits in a much more favorable position.
Bitcoin currently boasts a 47.4% market share, while ethereum’s is 21.5%. Ripple’s share has tapered to 5.9%, while bitcoin cash’s (not pictured) has dipped to about 4%.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
