It’s been a long time since 2009 when Bitcoin burst onto the scene to revolutionize the financial world and start us all on our long crypto journey. In the meantime, many other digital assets have been created. With the list of all cryptocurrencies now spanning thousands of different coins and tokens – all with different prices, market caps, circulating supplies, and purposes – it’s easy to feel confused or overwhelmed. Why are there so many different cryptocurrencies? Why do they all have different values? What makes one cryptocurrency more valuable than another? You’ll find the current Bitcoin price and the Ethereum price. These two coins account for nearly two-thirds of the overall cryptocurrency market cap. You’ll also find detailed prices and price histories for the hundreds of carefully vetted cryptocurrencies you can buy and sell on the Dipcoins platform – everything you need to follow crypto news and track exchange rates. If you’ve ever wondered about any of these questions regarding the cryptocurrency market, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled everything you need to know to understand cryptocurrency prices and the factors that influence them.
Crypto price histories tell you all about the historical value of a digital currency and may be displayed in the form of a chart or a list of past prices. Every cryptocurrency has a different price history and analyzing it can inform you about the coin’s past and help you make predictions about its future. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and so has the longest price history – stretching back to 2009 when it was worth much less than $0.01. Many of the cryptocurrencies that have launched since have been based on Bitcoin’s model and some were even created through hard forks of Bitcoin’s code. However, their price histories quickly diverge due to other differences between the coins. The first major surge for Bitcoin came at the end of 2013, and most other cryptocurrencies that were around then experienced similar rallies at the same time or slightly later. The value of most cryptocurrencies fell again in 2014.
Four years later, at the end of 2017, the global crypto market cap – which represents the total market capitalization of the list of all cryptocurrencies – rose by about 360% from $180 billion at the start of November 2017 to a peak of over $830 billion in January 2018. This was once more followed by a crash with most coins shedding a significant proportion of their value over the subsequent weeks and months. The most significant rally yet for the cryptocurrency market came in 2021. Crypto exchange rates began rising towards the end of 2020, and in January 2021, the global crypto market cap surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. It continued mostly climbing for the rest of the first quarter and by May was worth over $2 trillion.
A wide range of different things can affect the price of a cryptocurrency, with varying levels of significance. Some factors are unique to a specific coin while others impact the entire crypto sector. The strength and events of the broader global economy can affect the crypto market as a whole. Crypto prices tend to do well when fiat currencies are struggling. If economic crashes or poor monetary policies lead to the debasement of fiat currencies, many people begin to look for alternative stores of value to protect their funds, and so the stock and crypto markets often receive a boost. Most cryptocurrencies tend to follow what’s known as a boom-and-bust cycle. This is a pattern in which a period of growing excitement and adoption leads to a surge in price before doubt and disillusionment set in and result in a crash.
The amount of investment from both retail and institutional investors is an important factor in determining crypto price. Retail investors can be motivated to buy or sell a certain coin by a range of different things, from technical signals to rewards to the hype generated by social media. Institutions have also started investing in major cryptocurrencies in recent times. As they have much larger amounts to invest, they have greater potential to move the markets, while also increasing crypto awareness and confidence among retail investors.
As Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the most popular with huge market dominance, significant price movements for Bitcoin often affect the value of other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s major bull runs have so far formed a pattern about the coin’s halving events. These are when the block reward paid to Bitcoin miners is cut in half. It happens approximately every four years and most other cryptocurrencies have roughly followed the same pattern. On top of these more general factors, there are plenty of other influences on crypto price which is specific to each coin. These include a cryptocurrency’s max supply (or lack thereof), emission schedule, public sentiment, the flow of assets on exchanges, the team behind it, rights or rewards for holders, upgrades, integrations, competition, use cases, mainstream adoption, community engagement, and project news and developments.
Every cryptocurrency has a different price, ranging from a fraction of a cent to tens of thousands of dollars. You can find out the live prices of all the most popular coins on Kriptomat, as well as how to buy cryptocurrency. The cool thing about cryptocurrencies is that, unlike stocks, they are fractional. This means that you don’t have to buy a whole number of coins. For example, many people wouldn’t be able to afford a whole Bitcoin, but if they want to invest in Bitcoin, they could still buy 0.1 BTC, 0.0025 BTC, or any other fraction they like.
Many cryptocurrencies still cost less than $1, or even less than $0.01 per coin. However, calling these cryptocurrencies “cheap” represents a flawed way of thinking. As explained above, you don’t have to buy a whole number of coins and just because a cryptocurrency has a low price, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has more potential for growth. Market cap is a better indication of a project’s current value as it represents the total amount invested in it. A project with a strong team and innovative ideas but a small market cap may be undervalued – or “cheap” – regardless of what the price per coin is.
Crypto has turned plenty of people into millionaires in short time frames and many believe that the value of virtual assets will continue to rise in the future as Blockchain technology revolutionizes a wide range of industries. However, cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and it is possible to make huge losses as well as huge gains, making them a risk-on investment. It’s a good idea not to invest anything in crypto that you can’t afford to lose, and you might want to consult a qualified financial advisor if you’re unsure. That being said, there are plenty of promising crypto projects on the market with the potential to give great returns. It’s always important to do your research before making any kind of investment and crypto is certainly no exception. Some of the things to consider when evaluating the potential of a crypto project include the reputation of its team and backers, the quality of its whitepaper, whether the technology has a valuable use case, its roadmap, and whether it is on schedule, it is level of developer activity and community engagement and the economics of its coin.
There are currently thousands of different cryptocurrencies in existence and anyone can launch a new coin. Not all of them are worth your investment, however, and plenty of cryptocurrencies have already failed or turned out to be scams. Here at Kriptomat, you can trade a wide and ever-expanding range of the most popular coins. We’re constantly adding new listings based on the demand from our users and we provide a fast, simple, and secure way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
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