It’s historic! On the night of Sunday to Monday, the digital currency sector crossed for the first time the threshold of 3 trillion dollars of marketcap.
If the record is symbolic, it is only a reflection of the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies. What if we were only at the beginning? This is the question many economists are asking themselves today. The end of the year 2021 and the transition to the new year could bring its share of answers!
Crypto: a booming market!
- 2016: $ 14 billion
- 2017: $ 200 billion
- 2018: $ 210 billion
- 2019: $ 250 billion
- 2020: $ 450 billion
- 2021 $ 2,900 billion
After a dizzying increase between November 2016 and 2017 (+ 1,300%), the marketcap remained relatively stable between 2017 and 2019. If the number of projects increased considerably during this period, the correction on the main projects such as Bitcoin did not failed to boost the global cryptocurrency marketcap.
With the health crisis of 2020, the digital currency has resumed its march forward. After a sharp drop in mid-March, major projects were in high demand. And often under store of value to protect against the uncertainty of the financial markets. But also the risk of inflation. If in order of magnitude the increase is not as strong as between 2016 and 2017, the year 2021 (+ 544%) will have allowed crypto to move into a new era. An era resolutely oriented towards the general public.
Historical Records for Major Crypto Projects
Among the 10 main crypto projects (apart from stablecoins), 9 experienced their highest level in history during the year 2021. Only Ripple (XRP), on trial with the SEC, could not taste this joy. To get an even better idea of the evolution, here is a table showing the year of these 10 main projects:
| Crypto | Course January 1, 2021 | Current price | Evolution |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $ 29,000 | $ 65,375 | + 118.53% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $ 736 | $ 4,712 | + 540.22% |
| Binance Coin (BNB) | $ 37.4 | $ 648 | + 1,632.62% |
| Solana (SOL) | $ 1.50 | $ 244 | + 16,166.67% |
| Cardano (DOT) | $ 0.18 | $ 2.03 | + 1,027.78% |
| Ripple (XRP) | $ 0.22 | $ 1.25 | + 468.18% |
| Polkadot (DOT) | $ 9.30 | $ 52.80 | + 467.74% |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $ 0.0047 | $ 0.28 | + 5,857.45% |
| Shiba Inu (SHIB) | 0.000000000073 $ | $ 0.0000558 | + 76 438 256.16% |
| Avalanche (AVAX) | $ 3.30 | $ 95.2 | + 2,784.85% |
When we know thatEthereum and Bitcoin account for nearly 65% of the global cryptocurrency market, their impact on the global marketcap is colossal. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the evolution of the global marketcap is finally quite close to the curve that Ethereum has experienced throughout these last 12 months.
Of these 10 projects, none experienced an increase of less than 100%. For 60% of them, the increase between November 2020 and November 2021 was even greater than 1,000%.
What to expect for 2022?
But the market still seems too young today for a massive flight of capital. On the contrary, the general public is only just starting to take an interest in digital currencies. Concerning the main projects already in place, the estimates seem for the most part to agree on a continuity of the increase known in 2021. In proportions which could nevertheless prove to be more measured.
Good to know : The crypto marketcap grew by more than 544% between November 2020 and November 2021. If it were to evolve in the same proportions within the next 12 months, the global marketcap would then be close to 19 trillion dollars.
The increasingly committed and less and less symbolic investments of institutional players also suggest that 2022 could be a good vintage. Some are already looking to find the Solana of 2022. Perhaps he is looking behind blockchain projects in ambush like Harmony (ONE) or Velas (VLX). Some others are awaiting the outcome of the case between Ripple and the SEC. An outcome which could then upset the top 10 of the most important marketcap. So, can XRP regain its number 2 spot in the long run?
