11/05/2022
On Tuesday, Bitcoin fell briefly below $30,000 for the first time in 10 months, while cryptocurrencies overall have lost nearly $800 billion in market value in the past month, according to data site CoinMarketCap, as investors fret about tightening monetary policy worldwide.
Compared with the last tightening cycle by central banks worldwide, crypto is a much bigger market, raising concerns about its interconnectivity with the rest of the financial system.
How big is the cryptocurrency market?
In November, the most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hit an all-time high of more than $68,000, pushing the value of the crypto market to $3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. That figure was $1.51 trillion on Tuesday. Bitcoin accounts for nearly $600 billion of that value, followed by Ethereum, with a $285 billion market cap.
Although cryptocurrencies have enjoyed explosive growth, the market is still relatively small. The US stock markets, for example, are worth $49 trillion.
