The most widely used cryptocurrency in North America, Bitcoin is also the one that has been hit the hardest in recent years.
However, a new study from CoinDesk, the first to examine the value of cryptocurrency in terms of a market cap, suggests that Bitcoin’s value has increased considerably in recent months.
The study, which analyzed the value for each cryptocurrency in 2018 and 2019, shows that the price of Bitcoin rose by nearly 1,000% in the first five months of 2019.
The price of Ether, which has the same underlying technology as Bitcoin, rose by a similar amount, by around 1,500%.
“The fact that Bitcoin has been able to rise in value so much in just five months is a testament to its popularity,” said John Chovanec, CoinDesk’s chief investment officer.
Bitcoin’s price surged from around $11,000 at the beginning of 2017 to around $4,600 in March 2018.
This year, the value had reached a new all-time high of more than $20,000.
“In the last five months, Bitcoin has gained over 1,700%, Ether has risen by nearly 3,100% and Litecoin has jumped by more than 500%,” Chovanic said.
This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began to investigate whether Bitcoin exchanges were operating as fronts for money laundering.
It has been previously claimed that the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex had been used by Mexican drug cartels to launder drug money.
Ethereum, launched in 2014, has a strong following and has been adopted by a wide variety of tech companies including Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix. “
Ether’s value is growing because its value has been growing,” he added.
Ethereum, launched in 2014, has a strong following and has been adopted by a wide variety of tech companies including Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix.
However it is not yet clear whether it will be able to match the popularity of Bitcoin.
The value of Ether rose to a new high of $9,000 in June 2019, a sign of the crypto-currency’s increasing popularity.
Chavoec pointed out that while Ether’s value rose by more that $2,000 over the same period, its market cap was about $50 million.
“The reason for the huge rise is the increasing popularity of Ether,” he said.
Chavanec said that while he does not think Ether is going to replace Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency of choice, it is important for companies to understand the potential value that Ether could bring.
“If Ether can replace Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency market will grow and grow and become a very valuable asset class,” he explained.
The chart above shows the total market cap for the four top cryptocurrencies, and the average price per coin from April 2018 to July 2019.
As the price for Bitcoin rises, the average value of each cryptocurrency increases.
Ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency, was worth $3,800 in April 2018, while Bitcoin was worth around $12,000 then.
Ether was worth about $15,000 on Friday, which is an increase of more 50%.
Ether’s market cap now stands at $51.3 billion, or $20.2 billion ahead of Bitcoin, according to CoinDesk.
The next biggest cryptocurrency is Ethereum, which was worth over $8,500 in April 2019.
However Ethereum’s market capitalization is $2.2 trillion.
“It is clear that Ethereum’s value will continue to grow,” Chavaneco said.
“But what is clear is that it is the only cryptocurrency that is rapidly growing.”
