What is Crypto Market Cap?
Crypto market cap is the total value of all the coins of a particular cryptocurrency that have been mined or are in circulation. Market capitalization is used to determine the ranking of cryptocurrencies. The higher the market cap of a particular crypto coin, the higher its ranking and share of the market. Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of coins in circulation by its current price. For instance, to calculate the market cap of Ethereum, all you need to do is multiply the total number of Ethereum in circulation by the current price of one Ethereum and you will get its market cap.
How to compare Cryptocurrencies Market Cap?
Crypto market cap can be divided into three categories:
- Large-cap cryptocurrencies (>$10 billion)
- Mid-cap Cryptocurrencies ($1 billion – $10 billion)
- Small-cap cryptocurrencies (<$1 billion).
As a financial metric, market cap allows you to compare the total circulating value of one cryptocurrency with another. Large cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have a market cap of over $10 billion. They typically consist of protocols that have demonstrated track records, and have a vibrant ecosystem of developers maintaining and enhancing the protocol, as well as building new projects on top of them. While market cap is a simple and intuitive comparison metric, it is not a perfect point of comparison. Some cryptocurrency projects may appear to have inflated market cap through price swings and the tokenomics of their supply. As such, it is best to use this metric as a reference alongside other metrics such as trading volume, liquidity, fully diluted valuation, and fundamentals during your research process.
Why are Cryptocurrency Prices Different on Exchanges?
You may notice that cryptocurrencies listed on different exchanges have different prices. The reasons for this are complex, but simply put cryptocurrencies are traded on different exchanges and across different markets with varying economic conditions, liquidity, trading pairs, and offerings (e.g. derivatives / leverage) which all influence price in their own way.
What is 24h Volume?
The 24h trading volume refers to the amount a cryptocurrency has been bought and sold on all exchanges within the last 24 hours on the spot market. For instance, if the 24h volume for Ethereum is $15 billion, it means that $15 billion worth of Ether had changed hands across all exchanges in the last 24 hours.