- Bitcoin last night breached its all time high market capitalization
- Bitcoin was temporarily worth $342 billion, eclipsing 2017’s $335 billion
- The cryptocurrency is now worth more than Nestlé
Bitcoin may have stopped just short of its all-time high this morning, but a few hours ago it arguably went one better and reached its all time high market cap. While the Bitcoin price was topping out (temporarily?) at $18,480, the market cap hit $342 billion (according to Tradingview), eclipsing 2017’s $335 billion. The breaking of this record is arguably more important than breaking the price barrier, although of course much less headline-making, as it represents the value of Bitcoin in a greater context than just the price of one coin.
Bitcoin Closing in on JPMorgan
Bitcoin’s surge to $18,200 temporarily made it the 16th most valuable asset in the world, $14 billion short of Proctor and Gamble and $16 billion shy of, ironically, JPMorgan, the bank whose CEO Jamie Dimon has dismissed Bitcoin on numerous occasions. Only Tesla has come close to outperforming it in recent days, and even then Bitcoin has beaten it on recent daily performance.
The reason why Bitcoin’s market cap was able to break new ground before the price is due to Bitcoin’s expanding supply – there are more than 1.8 million new coins in the circulation compared to December 2017, a 10.75% increase.
No CEO, No VC Money, No Marketing…No Problem
At a time like this, it is worth reflecting on just how impressive it is for Bitcoin to have reached such a milestone. The fact that a decentralized entity with no leaders, no VC money, no physical products, and no marketing budget whose entire ethos flies in the face of the traditional global finance model is worth more than Nestlé is quite an incredible achievement.
Bitcoin was simply let loose in the world in 2008 with nothing backing it but a revolutionary idea and a group of passionate supporters. That the germ of an idea, which has been written off time and time again, has bounced back every single time to the point where it is now more valuable than ever is a testament to the strength and resilience of the ecosystem and those who curate it.
