Bitcoin Market Cap Above $20 Billion as Price Surpasses Gold

Friday, 03/03/2017 | 07:36 GMT by Avi Mizrahi
  • Despite rising challengers, lingering technical issues and a fractured community, Bitcoin marks another milestone.
Bitcoin Market Cap Above $20 Billion as Price Surpasses Gold
Bloomberg

The BTC/USD exchange rate is now trending at a record $1265 per one Bitcoin . And in total, the overall valuation of all bitcoin in circulation is now above $20 billion – a major benchmark market cap never seen before.

The cryptocurrency's worth still has room to climb if we compare it to the valuation of PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), which is now at just over $51 billion - but that is not the comparison that everyone in the community is pointing to right now.

All over the social networks and online forums bitcoin advocates, investors and long term holders are celebrating that its price has now surpassed that of an ounce of gold at $1233. The importance of this is that gold has for millennia stood for a safe store of value and bitcoin advocates see it as the digital equivalent - if not replacement.

Trying to explain the recent rally most commentators point to increased demand from China where paradoxically the central bank recently restricted the operations of the country's bitcoin exchanges. The theory seems to be that by acknowledging its role in money laundering and by passing capital control, the People's Bank of China has given the cryptocurrency its 'sign of disapproval' in the eyes of people that were still on the fence before.

Its also important to note that the rising cryptocurrecy tide helps lift other boats as well. Ethereum, the second biggest Blockchain asset by market cap, is now priced at $20 with a market cap of $1.8 billion. Dash has seen its own rally and is now the third biggest cryptocurrency in the world.

The BTC/USD exchange rate is now trending at a record $1265 per one Bitcoin . And in total, the overall valuation of all bitcoin in circulation is now above $20 billion – a major benchmark market cap never seen before.

The cryptocurrency's worth still has room to climb if we compare it to the valuation of PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), which is now at just over $51 billion - but that is not the comparison that everyone in the community is pointing to right now.

All over the social networks and online forums bitcoin advocates, investors and long term holders are celebrating that its price has now surpassed that of an ounce of gold at $1233. The importance of this is that gold has for millennia stood for a safe store of value and bitcoin advocates see it as the digital equivalent - if not replacement.

Trying to explain the recent rally most commentators point to increased demand from China where paradoxically the central bank recently restricted the operations of the country's bitcoin exchanges. The theory seems to be that by acknowledging its role in money laundering and by passing capital control, the People's Bank of China has given the cryptocurrency its 'sign of disapproval' in the eyes of people that were still on the fence before.

Its also important to note that the rising cryptocurrecy tide helps lift other boats as well. Ethereum, the second biggest Blockchain asset by market cap, is now priced at $20 with a market cap of $1.8 billion. Dash has seen its own rally and is now the third biggest cryptocurrency in the world.

About the Author: Avi Mizrahi
Avi Mizrahi
  • 2727 Articles
  • 10 Followers
About the Author: Avi Mizrahi
Azi Mizrahi, expert in fintech trends and global markets, enriches readers with deep insights.
  • 2727 Articles
  • 10 Followers

More from the Author

CryptoCurrency

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}