The cryptocurrency markets continued to swell on Wednesday, fueled by the bitcoin price’s seemingly unstoppable Q4 rally. Coupled with strong performances from dash and monero, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies is preparing to cross another major milestone.
The cryptocurrency market cap began the day near $241 billion, and — following a mid-day dip — engaged in a steady advance. At present, the total crypto market cap is $246.3 billion, meaning that if the market can replicate today’s day-over-day performance one more time, it will march past the $250 billion milestone.
The bitcoin price set another all-time high yesterday, rising as far as $8,380 on bitcoin exchange Bitfinex after recovering from the post-Tether hack market volatility. The bitcoin price has since receded to $8,292, but this still represents a 24-hour gain of almost two percent. This provides bitcoin with a market cap of $138.4 billion, making it just larger than French “Supermajor” Oil and Gas Company Total S.A.
Despite its rapid climb, bitcoin’s short-term price outlook remains positive. Increasingly, investors and analysts believe the bitcoin price will reach the five-figure mark within the near future, and billionaire fund manager Mike Novogratz has predicted that bitcoin will achieve the $10,000 milestone before the end of the year.
Novogratz is also bullish on ethereum, anticipating that it is on track to reach a new all-time high of its own. To get there, though, the ethereum price must break through the $400 barrier — no simple feat.
At present, the ethereum price is trading at a global average of $367, which represents a single-day gain of one-quarter of one percent. Ethereum has a market cap of $35.2 billion.
The altcoin markets added a total of about $2 billion on Wednesday, bringing their combined valuation to a high-water mark above $107 billion.
The bitcoin cash price rose one-third of one percent, but ripple posted a minor decline despite news of a partnership with a prominent UAE bank.
The dash price, on the other hand, led the pack with a day-over-day increase of 21 percent, a remarkable gain for a coin as large as dash. Dash is now priced at $579, which translates into a $4.5 billion market cap.
The surge enabled dash to leap past litecoin in the market cap rankings. Litecoin, now ranked sixth, is currently trading at $71 following a 24-hour increase of one-half of one percent. The IOTA price rose seven percent, bringing it within six cents of reaching parity with the U.S. dollar. Monero soared by 15 percent, bringing its price to a new all-time high of $157. NEO added three percent following yesterday’s steep decline, and tenth-ranked NEM dipped by one percent.
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