The bitcoin price reached a new all-time high on Sunday evening, headlining a near-universal advance among top 100 cryptocurrencies. The ethereum price crept toward $310 to join the rally, while bitcoin cash and ripple jockeyed for bronze in the market cap rankings.
Altogether, the total cryptocurrency market cap added nearly $9 billion. On Sunday morning, the crypto market cap was $170.9 billion. That number swelled throughout the day, eventually piercing the $180 billion barrier for a brief period. At present, the crypto market cap sits at $179.5 billion.
Bitcoin Price Hits All-Time High
Over the weekend, CCN reported that Vietnam had banned the use of bitcoin and other digital currencies as payment instruments. As if in defiance, the bitcoin price responded by soaring to a new all-time high global average of $6,255, although it peaked as high as $6,345 on Bitfinex. At present, the bitcoin price is $6,169, which gives bitcoin a market cap of $102.7 billion and represents a 24-hour increase of 6%.
It is somewhat surprising to see the bitcoin price continue to post record gains just two weeks out from the scheduled date for the activation of SegWit2x — a hard fork that may lead to a blockchain and community split — but this movement may be an indication that traders are less-concerned than analysts about the results of the fork.
Ethereum Price Creeps Toward $310
The ethereum price joined the rally, ticking up 3% to $309 and a $29.5 billion market cap. Ethereum has been unable to break free of the $300 threshold’s orbit since the activation of Byzantium, so time will tell whether it is able to overcome this obstacle heading into November.
Altcoins Add $2.2 Billion
Today’s bitcoin price rally enabled the flagship cryptocurrency to increase its share of the total market cap to 57%, but altcoins still managed to add a combined $2.2 billion to their market caps.
The ripple price increased 1% to enable XRP to reclaim the third-place market cap ranking from bitcoin cash, who had held that post for a brief period over the weekend. Bitcoin cash, meanwhile, fell 4% to $465 after its weekend rally began to taper. Nevertheless, bitcoin cash now has a market cap of $7.8 billion, placing it just $43 million behind ripple.
The litecoin price achieved a 4% gain to $57, which lifted its market cap just over the $3 billion level. Dash followed closely behind with a 3% increase to $286, and NEO rose 6% to seize the seventh-place position. NEM and monero each rose 3%, bringing their prices to $0.199 and $90, respectively. Ninth-ranked bitconnect, meanwhile, increased 6.66% to $228 — an ominous gain to post on the eve of Halloween.