The best is yet to come.
After getting so close in November 2021, we’ve finally made it.
Earlier this week, the overall crypto market hit a $3 trillion circulating market cap.
Not bad for an asset class that’s mostly less than 10 years old; 16 years at most with Bitcoin’s launch in January 2009.
It took 12 years to get from zero to one trillion.
Within four years, we’ve tripled that.
Now imagine where we’ll be by the end of this decade.
Overall (circulating) crypto market cap. Source: CoinGecko, 17 November 2024.
Bitcoin ($BTC) keeps on setting new records as well. It now sits at a whopping $1.79 trillion market cap, recently overtaking silver to become the eighth-largest global asset.
It has once again grown its market dominance despite widespread hype for altcoins, particularly Ethereum alternatives (Solana, Cardano, BNB Chain, Sui and Avalanche, to name a few*), L2s and memecoins.
The flagship cryptocurrency has gone from 37% dominance at last cycle’s peak to around 58% at the time of writing. For context, Ethereum is roughly 12% and the above-mentioned alternatives collectively account for another 10-12%.
Thus, it is reassuring to see the vast majority of this market is well-represented by meaningful projects, in spite of the thousands of scams and pump-and-dumps around.
* These aren’t the only ones I’m a fan of.
https://cryptowithlorenzo.medium.com/subscribe
Now that Trump will be returning to the Oval Office within two months and Republicans have achieved a clean sweep, many Bitcoin and crypto investors are banking on friendlier policies in the coming months and years.
Interest rate cuts, the increasing likelihood of The Fed turning the money printer back on, and the major involvement of institutional investors snapping up Bitcoin and Ethereum through spot ETFs are more bullish signs for this market.
More countries will be forced to take BTC seriously. Everyone who mocked El Salvador has egg on their face. They should salvage some pride by acknowledging their mistake and buying some BTC.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is one entity that comes to mind, which has been critical of the country’s decision to adopt BTC as legal tender in 2021.
Since then, its government’s Bitcoin wallet holds 5,937 BTC, currently valued at around $535 million, up 27%.
I told you so.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) November 11, 2024
This will be a memorable tweet in the years to come, for better or worse.
Records will tumble in 2025
I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit $8 trillion in the Bitcoin + altcoins market cap by the end of 2025.
It sounds far-fetched but consider this. Earlier this week, BTC gained $8,343 in just 24 hours. This was the largest ever daily increase in the commodity’s price.
With altcoins also beginning to pump hard, this market will make massive moves in quick succession.
Blink and you’ll miss these.
The $8 trillion figure also becomes a lot more plausible when accounting for gradual capital rotation from gold, real estate and other investments into Bitcoin and altcoins.
Yes, these age-old investments will remain dominant for years to come, especially real estate, due to its track record. Still, tapping into just 6-7% of the global M2 money supply, valued at around $94 trillion, would get us over the line.
Commercial and residential real estate was valued at $608 trillion last year. Imagine diverting a fraction of that to Bitcoin or altcoins.
Another record to pay attention to is the increasing number of people worldwide who hold some crypto. According to Triple A Technologies, 562 million individuals hold crypto, up from 420 million last year.
We should hit one billion by the end of this decade, possibly by the next Bitcoin Block Reward Halving in April 2028.
Anyhow, we’re just getting started. Brace yourselves for a wild rollercoaster ride.
https://medium.com/@cryptowithlorenzo/11-altcoins-to-buy-for-this-bull-market-1f74967a117d
Disclaimers
- N.B. None of this is financial advice; I am not a financial advisor. You are ultimately responsible for crypto investments, let alone in any asset class.
- The opinions expressed within this piece are my own and might not reflect those behind any news outlet, person, organisation, or otherwise listed here.
- Please do your own research before investing in any crypto assets, staking, NFTs or other products affiliated with this space.
- Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) account for about 50% of my crypto portfolio at the time of writing.
Featured image by shanchali876 at Freepik