Important news in the blockchain industry: the crypto universe continues to expand with more than 1,000 new digital assets added to the market in just five months. Moreover, the prices of most major cryptocurrencies experienced double-digit growth, sparking renewed optimism among investors.
Crypto world: novel opportunities and news for investors
As anticipated, the cryptocurrency market saw a major comeback in 2023, with most major digital coins posting double-digit price increases. This solid performance has reinvigorated investor confidence, leading to an unprecedented surge in the number of new cryptocurrencies available.
AltIndex.com data reveals that over 1,000 new cryptocurrencies were added to the market in the last five months, bringing the total to 9,708 in July. Furthermore, the number of cryptocurrencies steadily grew from around 60 in 2013 to 4,500 in 2021. Following the cryptocurrency boom in 2021, the total number of cryptocurrencies more than doubled, with the market adding approximately 1,000 new cryptocurrencies per month. The number peaked at almost 10,400 in February 2022 before declining slightly. In the same period, more than 1,700 digital coins were removed from exchanges, reducing the total to 8,685. Despite this, the number of cryptocurrencies has greatly increased in the past five months, reaching 9,708.
Which crypto assets account for 80% of the total market value?
Despite the significant increase in the number of digital coins available in the past five months, only a few cryptocurrencies still make up the majority of the market value. Statistics from CoinMarketCap show that the world’s top five cryptocurrencies now account for 80.9% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization, with a combined value of $981 billion.
Bitcoin is the largest and most expensive cryptocurrency, accounting for 48.6% of the global cryptocurrency market capitalization, up from 41.6% five months ago. Ethereum accounts for an additional 19.1%, with Tether, XRP and BNB accounting for a collective 13.1%, with a combined market capitalization of $160.6 billion. Cardano, Dogecoin and Polygon have all seen a decline in their market share since February, accounting for only 2.2% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.
Crypto legislation: Brian Armstrong to meet with House Democrats
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is set to meet privately with House of Representatives Democrats in Congress Wednesday morning amid the cryptocurrency exchange’s legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Bloomberg reported Monday that the meeting will be attended by members of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of over 100 Democrats dedicated to economic growth, innovation, and responsible fiscal policies. The discussion will cover a variety of topics, including crypto legislation, taxes, national security, privacy, and climate.
In recent months, House and Senate lawmakers have introduced separate bills to provide clarity on cryptocurrency regulation, although the current political divide suggests the outcome of these efforts is uncertain. On June 6th, the SEC charged Coinbase with violating federal securities laws. Coinbase responded by claiming the SEC’s action violates due process and constitutes an abuse of discretion.
Also, Coinbase’s shares surged more than 24% Thursday after a court granted Ripple, and by extension the entire cryptocurrency industry, a partial victory in its case against the SEC, ruling that Ripple’s XRP token is not a security.