Tech

Bitcoin market share is at the level it was just after it hit its near-$20,000 record high

Key Points
  • Bitcoin's share of the entire cryptocurrency market stood at 47.6 percent, the highest level since December 20.
  • Bitcoin hit its record high of $19,783.21 on December 17.
  • Bitcoin has been helped with positive regulatory noises, including hope that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could approve an exchange-traded fund.
  • Other cryptocurrencies including ethereum and ripple haven't seen major news to boost their prices.

Bitcoin's share of the entire cryptocurrency market is at its highest level this year and near where it was when the digital coin hit its highest price level in history.

The dominance of bitcoin — which is the percentage its market capitalization contributes to the entire value of the cryptocurrency market — stood at 47.6 percent on Tuesday, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com, a website that tracks such data

This is the highest level since December 20, 2017, just days after bitcoin hit its record high of $19,783.21 on December 17. Bitcoin's dominance has recovered since it hit its lowest level in January but the price, which was at just over $7,000 on Tuesday, is a way off the December all-time high.

But bitcoin has recovered from June, when it fell below $6,000. Part of this recovery has been thanks to some positive news for the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Regulators have focused more closely on the cryptocurrency space, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently classed bitcoin as a commodity rather than a security, giving a hint at how the authorities could regulate it.

And there is hope that a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) could come to market this year despite the SEC rejecting a second attempt by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of crypto exchange Gemini, to introduce one.

On top of that, digital assets are being experimented with by large corporations.

Starbucks, along with Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft and BCG, among others, is working to launch a new company called Bakkt that will enable consumers to swap their cryptocurrency for fiat such as U.S. dollars to spend at their outlets.

Starbucks and Microsoft partner up to bring bitcoin to the coffee chain
VIDEO0:5000:50
Starbucks and Microsoft partner up to bring bitcoin to the coffee chain

But there has also been some news that has also weighed on other cryptocurrencies that may have helped bitcoin's market share increase again. Earlier this year, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck was hacked, which led to over $500 million worth of NEM digital coins being stolen. Other exchanges have also been hacked.

Meanwhile, there hasn't been any major news regarding ethereum and ripple, the second and third-largest cryptocurrencies by value respectively, that has moved the price for those coins.