The volatile world of cryptocurrency has taken yet another turn, with the second-largest coin, Ethereum, on the rise. Ethereum has just surpassed 50 per cent of bitcoin’s market cap.
Note: All prices are expressed in AUD.
When it comes to cryptocurrency, no coin has ever approached the popularity, value, and prevalence of bitcoin. The foremost coin in the crypto sphere, it started the year at around $47,000 AUD. Today, it stands at around $80,000.
Experts forecast it will continue to trend upward into 2022, with predictions it may hit $100,000 before New Year’s.
While bitcoin has been met with massive success, Ethereum has begun to emerge as a legitimate contender in the world of cryptocurrency. In January 2021, Ethereum (also known as ETH) was valued at just under $2,000.
At the time of writing, it is now valued at over $6,600. That puts Ethereum at an all-time high. Before November 2021, Ethereum’s peak was in May, reaching almost $5,000.
Blockchain Center has also been tracking Ethereum’s market capitalization, also known as market cap. Market cap is a major factor for crypto investors as it measures the total value of a cryptocurrency. This is calculated by “multiplying the price of a cryptocurrency by the number of coins in circulation”, says Next Advisor.
Blockchain Centre is, perhaps most notably, monitoring what they refer to as “the Flippening”. The term is used to describe the “hypothetical moment of Ethereum overtaking bitcoin as the biggest cryptocurrency”. At the time of writing, Ethereum has surpassed 51.2 per cent of bitcoin’s market cap.
Once it reaches 100 per cent, they will have the same market cap.
The rising value of Ethereum speaks to a larger story about the growth of cryptocurrency in general. More than 10,000 cryptocurrencies are currently in circulation.
Bitcoin’s market cap currently stands at $1.09 trillion, compared to Ethereum’s $560.18 billion.
