The cryptocurrency market cap achieved another historic milestone on Friday, touching the $200 billion mark for the first time in its history. Unlike yesterday’s record advance — which was single-handedly carried out by the surging bitcoin price — today’s movement was the result of a joint rally by almost every top 100 coin.
The crypto market cap entered the day positioned just below $190 billion. That number ticked up leading into Friday morning, and at 2:00 UTC it began to soar. By 5:00, it had added another $5 billion, and it floated past $200 billion less than 4 hours later, eventually peaking at a new all-time high of $201.9 billion.
Bitcoin Price Soars Past $7,450
The bitcoin price continued to grab the headlines by leaping to yet another all-time high. Yesterday, bitcoin had extended as high as $7,350 before a flash crash halted its advance. However, traders had no trouble punching back through this mark on Friday, and the global average bitcoin price achieved a new high-water mark of $7,461. The bitcoin price has since tapered to $7,303, but this still represents a dizzying weekly gain of 25%. Bitcoin now has a market cap of nearly $122 billion.
The advance continues to appear linked to the revelation earlier this week that CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, intends to list bitcoin futures contracts. David Johnson, CEO of Latium, a tasking platform that pays its users in cryptocurrency, told CCN that he believes the CME announcement “opens the door to using Bitcoin as a true tender”.
Bitcoin futures provide the required infrastructure for any business to participate in the Bitcoin phenomenon while mitigating market risk. The ability to hedge market risk is a requirement for any business looking to accept payment in a non-native currency.
“Opening a first of its kind futures market is a game changer for the global acceptance of Bitcoin as a real-world currency,” Johnson continued. “This release proves that Bitcoin is no longer the ugly stepchild of the financial world, but a true financial asset respected by all.”
Ethereum Price Floats Back to $300
Ethereum, like most other cryptocurrencies, has not fared well during bitcoin’s month-long rally. While the flagship cryptocurrency has been posting record highs on an almost daily basis, ethereum has struggled just to tread water. Earlier this week, the ethereum price began to dive below $300, which had been its support level for much of the past two months. However, ethereum joined in the upward movement on Friday, enabling its price to float back near the $300 mark. At present, the ethereum price is trading at $297, which translates into a $28.3 billion market cap.
Altcoins Join the Rally
Altcoins have taken a beating in recent weeks as traders have consolidated their holdings into the surging bitcoin markets. However, the crypto markets made a unified advance on Friday, and nearly every top 100 cryptocurrency posted a net gain.
Bitcoin cash resumed its recent surge, posting a double-digit gain for the second consecutive day to increase its price to $648 — its highest mark since early September. Bitcoin cash now has a market cap of $10.9 billion, giving it a nearly $3 billion edge on fourth-ranked ripple.
Ripple may be losing ground on bitcoin cash, but its 24-hour performance was second-best among top-tier coins. The ripple price rose 7%, increasing its market cap to near $8 billion. Litecoin and bitconnect each climbed 4%, while NEO achieved a 6% recovery to raise its price to $26. Dash, NEM, and monero posted less impressive gains, but they each managed to make minor advances of about 2%.