Which coin has the largest market cap? Hint: It might not be the one you think...
On first thought, everyone will most likely say: "Bitcoin, obviously!"
However, what if I told you that might not "technically" be the truth?
By the way, it's not technically a market cap, but more like a total network value, but I will use the term "market cap" since it is what I am most used to from dealing with traditional equities.
If you don't like that, tough luck! :)
What the heck am I talking about?
Let's dive into some numbers...
Bitcoin currently has about 16.8 million coins in circulation with a price of roughly $17k per coin, which equates to roughly $285.6 billion.
Further, Bitcoin will technically only ever have 21 million coins in circulation.
There is debate about whether the forked coins add supply or not, but that is a debate for another day.
The original Bitcoin is worth roughly $285.6 billion at its current price.
According to coinmarketcap, that is far and away the largest market cap in crypto land. With Ripple coming in second place at less than half the value, right around $119 billion.
(Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/ )
Yes, if you haven't been paying attention this past week, Ripple leaped Ethereum as the second most valuable cryptocurrency in existence.
Pretty crazy right?
Here is where things get interesting...
What if I told you that "technically" Bitcoin wasn't technically the most valuable cryptocurrency in existence?
What if I told you that technically Ripple is more valuable than Bitcoin right now? Even with Bitcoin at $17k per coin.
And I am not talking about potential value or anything like that, I am talking straight dollars and cents.
You see, Ripple is quite different than bitcoin in how it works.
With Bitcoin, coins are mined on a blockchain with a maximum number to ever be produced set to be 21 million. Those 21 million coins don't technically exist yet, which is why determining market value based on current circulating coins makes sense.
However, with Ripple, the 100 billion coins are not mined or through some other act of securing a decentralized network.
Instead those coins are already created, and most are controlled by Ripple.
So, (technically) the 100 billion coins that will ever exist, already do. Even if roughly 61 billion of those are held by Ripple itself.
Which means, technically, a more accurate description of the total network value of Ripple would be the current price multiplied by 100 billion.
Which would be $3.06 X 100 billion = $306 billion network value.
(Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/ )
Which would be about $21 billion MORE than bitcoin. Technically.
One slight caveat to all this...
One thing to keep in mind is that Ripple recently announced that they would be locking up roughly 55 billion Ripple in an escrow account, which would be released at a rate of 1 billion coins per month for the next 4 and half years.
So, technically those coins are locked up.... but still.
Technically, Ripple has the largest market cap of any coin currently.
Technically. ;)
*This was meant to be a fun ironic post, not to be used for making any investment decisions.
Stay informed my friends.
Sources:
https://www.coindesk.com/100-billion-controversy-xrps-surge-raises-hard-questions-ripple/
Image Sources:
https://wels.net/the-ripple-effect-lydia/
Follow me: @jrcornel
hummm ! @jrcornel , I was in a debate about bitcoin that it has (You call it market cap) is most network value in the world crypto. Thanks for the information otherwise I was about to slap him or at least I was taking swear on God. #tough lock for me Ha Ha ha ha #God bless you.
Ripple is nothing but a P&D done by big hedge funds and their banker buddies. Pure and simple. Anyone looking to invest in Ripple should research the long list of lawsuits and links between Jed McCaleb, Ripple and Stellar: https://www.coindesk.com/?s=ripple+lawsuit
Ripple is not a REAL cryptocurrency, it's a for-profit company masquerading as a cryptocurrency.
Agree 100%.
I hate Ripple with a passion!
Do you recommend investing in Ripple now?
Probably best to consult a financial advisor for that kind of question. :)
I'm staying away from it, and hoping it fails. I don't like the concept, and there's plenty of good coins to choose from that value people's liberty.
ripple (no Caps), central banking? No thanks. Buying into ripple makes about as much sense as fighting fire with oil.
I sold mine for #Paccoin
I dont think it will be profitable since it has so low price now.
lol
What...
i recommend to invest in Litecoin because is going up.
Right now am investing in lower price currencies, its easier to 2x, 3x or even 5x your investment
this can be a good ideea.
Can you tell me in what you are investing?Sorry for asking,but i am in the beginning with all this (steemit,bitcoin,litecoin)and any information can help me move on.
i m proud
I think its to late ... EOS will be better at this moment
Check out my last post.
All depends what your investing with I don't think swapping some bitcoin for ripple is such a bad idea as it's very good for sending instant transactions with low fees.
This is why market cap means nothing in the crypto world, the only thing that gives a coin its value is supply and demand on the exchanges.
yes supply and demand. i would say 90% people who involve in cryptocurrency will know and used coinmarketcap. look at youtubers, and so on.
Supply/Demand - certainly. But market cap doesn’t mean nothing. We’ll see volatility calm as market cap continues to rise, that’s something.
Thanks for the interesting post. Ripple wants to control its price by releasing coins regularly so the usage will grow steadily and also have a greater utility for banks. Bitcoin is on a different level with its limited supply and yet the ability to airdrop valuable forks along the way. It is ironic that a centralized crypto company has created such a valuable product that for the moment on paper can be valued higher... than BTC. I'm sure this comforts the Federal Reserve... that they still may have a chance!
Yes, that appears to be what they are doing. The net effect is very similar to what btc and other coins are doing via mining, but "technically" it is slightly different. Thanks for the reply. :)
That's true, although it doesn't seem like they are in too much of a hurry to actually use it.
No they aren't because they love controlling their monopoly money with swifts!
I agree that you have to rate Ripple with the 100 billion coins. But I'm not a friend of Ripple at all. For me it's a bankster coin. Surely you can make money with the coin, but if you are more interested in the decentralized aspect of cryptocurrencies, you should not buy and support ripple.
Ripple is crazy giant...
Somehow we wanted decentralized world, and got all the many in hands of few persons that can now manipulate and destroy all the market :(
interesting
Ripple is such a Rippoff! The supply is controlled by the world's experts in market manipulation, the banks! Hello! Can't you see this is just a scam to hijack our BTC??? Boycott Ripple!
Whoa, this is super interesting! Thanks for sharing!