More Altcoins Are Reaching $1 Billion Market Cap – Bitcoin Still Bullish!

Even More Cryptocurrencies Touch $1 Billion in Market Capital!

There was a time when only Bitcoin and Ethereum had market capitals above $1 billion, with a considerable lead over the rest of the cryptocurrency space. However, this no longer seems to be the case, as coins such as Dash, Ripple, Litecoin, and even NEM have at least had a taste of the billion-dollar club or still sit with all-time highs in market capital.

This has reduced Bitcoin’s market dominance, which was at around 80% at the start of the year. It now resides just above 50%. However, this has not had any effect on Bitcoin’s price, as it remains as bullish as ever, trading at around a powerful $1,770.

Ethereum Temporarily Knocked Off 2nd Place!

For a few hours, Ripple was the number two cryptocurrency, likely due to the huge increase in price from new investor capital flooding into the ecosystem, while other speculators put it down to manipulation and a price bubble on popular trading exchange Poloniex.

Ethereum’s market capital has steadily grown during the rise of altcoins, which is now at over $8 billion.

Development, Hype, Speculation, and Manipulation

With Litecoin activating SegWit and the Lightning Network, its price has rallied from $4 to $30 within the last two months, with many saying it could run to at least $50! Litecoin currently sits as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap slowly approaching the $2 billion mark. With the ability to scale for mainstream adoption, Litecoin could still be undervalued.

Innovative and technical progression can help push price and market capital higher, as well as create hype for investors who don’t want to miss the train. A genuine, innovative coin may also simply be worth more with enhancements to its software. There are never set rules to go by in cryptocurrencies!

NEM is yet another coin that has reached new market capital highs. It now stands as the fifth-largest, under Litecoin. The bullish coin has surpassed heavyweights, such as Dash, Monero, and Ethereum Classic, but did not maintain its billion-dollar market cap status for long, as a mass sell-off caused the coin to start consolidating.

Manipulation could be playing a larger role than many want to realize. Large amounts of capital are flowing into the altcoin markets and huge trades are being conducted. There is a high chance of traders with large amounts of Bitcoin buying up these altcoins to prop up the price and create a snowball effect as other traders follow suit. It’s similar to a pack of cards falling: one falls and the knock-on effect causes them all to fall.

With higher prices, the market capital of the respective coin will increase like a bubble. The statistics we then see on sites such as CoinMarketCap.com may not reflect the true value of the cryptocurrencies we want to learn more about. Even the coins with genuine innovation behind them are and have been subject to price manipulation, which has created fortunes for some investors.

Bitcoin is Stronger Than Ever, Despite Dominance Dropping!

Despite Bitcoin’s dominance being at 55%, the price and popularity of Bitcoin still dominates the market. The altcoins plummet in the shadow of a Bitcoin surge, causing coins to fall in price up to 30% at times.

In times of a crisis, such as the Poloniex and Kraken crashes due to DDoS attacks or a correction with altcoins, everyone resorts to Bitcoin to protect their profits and capital from devastating losses. Bitcoin is still seen as the number one digital reserve currency and the gateway to the rest of the crypto space.