Bitcoin Market Cap Hits All-Time High as Price Soars

Bitcoin’s market cap today hit a new all-time high. Its sky-high market cap, $330 billion, is the result of its booming price, currently about $17,800.

Bitcoin’s market cap is the sum of all of the coins in circulation and the price of a single Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin’s price hit its all-time high, close to $20,000, in 2017. But the record for the all-time high market cap was $328 billion, according to data from Coin Metrics—lower than today. (CoinMarketCap, a rival, puts Bitcoin’s all-time high market cap at $335.8 billion).

Bitcoin’s market cap today surpassed its 2017 record despite a lower price because more Bitcoin is in circulation today than in 2017.

Bitcoin miners mint new Bitcoin all of the time—that’s their reward for processing Bitcoin transactions.

On December 16, 2017, when Bitcoin’s market cap hit its last all-time high, per Coin Metrics, there was 16.747 million Bitcoin in circulation. Today, there is 18.545 million Bitcoin in circulation, according to the same chart.

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