Back in December 2017, when BTC hit $20,000 for the first time, altcoins such as Bitcoin Cash, XRP and Litecoin were firm favorites in the top five. Tether and Binance Coin were nowhere to be seen among the 20 biggest coins. Some, like Polkadot, didn’t even exist. Fast forward to 2021, and the rundown of the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap looks very different indeed.
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- Two big announcements in the space of 24 hours are fueling momentum in the crypto markets (Photo: Pixabay)
BNY Mellon and Mastercard become latest big brands to back crypto
America’s oldest bank is launching a service for institutional investors, while the credit card giant plans to offer consumer-to-merchant transactions using digital assets
What’s significant with BNY Mellon’s announcement is how the bank plans to ensure that digital assets aren’t treated any differently than stocks and bonds, meaning all of these holdings will be managed through the same infrastructure. And rather than solely focusing on the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum, it appears that BNY Mellon has few limits on the types of digital assets that it’s willing to accept.
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Altcoins seize the spotlight: BTC takes a tumble, ETH slides
Starved of attention from its biggest backer in recent days, Dogecoin enjoyed a surge on Wednesday when Elon Musk declared he had bought DOGE for his son. But Cardano ruled the day
As bitcoin nursed a 3.5% loss and struggled to stay above $45,000, with Ether flat at $1,735, the real gains were to be seen in altcoins with a smaller market cap. Most notably, it was an impressive day for Cardano
- Between Tether, DeFi, and the SEC, Ripple's standing in crypto's top five is in jeopardy (Photo: Pixabay)
Is XRP in danger of falling out of the top five cryptocurrencies?
XRP and Cardano’s market caps are now neck and neck, and the embattled altcoin could be demoted further if its market cap is overtaken by another token embraced by decentralized finance, Polkadot
Just a few short months ago, XRP’s market cap meant that its position in the top three cryptocurrencies was secure. Unfortunately, a confluence of factors has plunged the altcoin’s standing into peril.