The bitcoin price climbed nearly 20 percent in the hours following the launch of the bitcoin futures on U.S. derivatives exchange Cboe. The positive movement rippled throughout the markets, enabling the combined value of all cryptocurrencies to post a 13 percent increase.
Already on an incline, the cryptocurrency market cap had entered the day at $390.7 billion. It continued to rise throughout the day and eventually leveled out at $442.8 billion, placing the cryptocurrency ecosystem within striking distance of surpassing the total valuation of multinational holding company Berkshire Hathaway, which is currently worth $484 billion.
Bitcoin Price Nears $17,000 as Futures Trade Up
Regulated bitcoin futures contracts made their much-anticipated debut on Sunday, and — perhaps to the surprise of many analysts — traded up. January futures rose more than $2,000 to $17,500, while March futures traded as high as $19,330.
Perhaps buoyed by this bullish outlook, the bitcoin price rose approximately 19 percent for the day, from $14,159 on Sunday to $16,738 on Monday. At present, bitcoin has a market cap of $280.1 billion.
While it remains unclear what trajectory bitcoin futures will take over the next month as CME launches contracts on its platform and more traders enter the market, most analysts believe that regulated bitcoin derivatives will have a positive effect on the cryptocurrency over the long-term.
Ethereum Price Recovers Past $460
Ethereum could not replicate bitcoin’s exuberant movement, but it did manage to recover past $460. For the day, the ethereum price climbed four percent, bringing it to a present value of $464. Ethereum now has a market cap of $44.7 billion.
If bitcoin futures prove to be an attractive investment vehicle, it is likely that exchanges will launch ethereum derivatives within the near future, a scenario that would prove bullish for the ethereum price.
Altcoins Rise Against the Dollar
Buttressed by bitcoin’s surge, nearly every top 100 altcoin rose against the value of the dollar, enabling the altcoin market cap to grow to roughly $163 billion.
The bitcoin cash price rose seven percent, bringing its value to $1,394. The IOTA price rose two percent, enabling it to hold above ripple in the market cap rankings. Ripple, meanwhile, added five percent, although this increase was not enough to hoist its market cap above $10 billion.
Next to bitcoin, the litecoin price posted the most impressive single-day performance among top 10 coins. The litecoin price exploded by nearly 18 percent, bringing it to a present value of $161. In the past week, the litecoin price has climbed nearly 67 percent, and its market cap is rapidly approaching $9 billion.
Seventh-ranked dash rose five percent to $713, while bitcoin gold’s 16 percent recovery put a halt to its prolonged slide. Monero added 10 percent, empowering its market cap to crack the $4 billion mark, and NEM rounded out the top 10 with a 15 percent increase to $0.427.