When looking at the performance of digital assets, there are countless metrics used. One of the most commonplace and simplest is overall market-cap. Many turn to this as a quick way to gauge overall adoption, and where certain assets rank compared to others. Here we highlight various subsets within the world of digital assets, and how they stack up to more traditional publicly listed companies.
Digital Securities
Of all the digital asset subsets discussed here today, digital securities boast arguably the greatest potential and room for growth. As these assets are geared towards operating in a highly regulated environment, it is unsurprising that their rate of adoption has been slower than other forms of digital assets – there are simply more hurdles to clear along their path to becoming commonplace.
Total Market-Cap $671 million USD
Privacy Coins
Digital assets come in many shapes and forms, with each providing some unique quality to its end user. While most of the population pays no mind to their own financial privacy, there are a select few which prioritize this in their dealings. For this like-minded group of people, there are privacy coins such as Monero, zCash, and more.
Each of these assets boast the ability to obscure data in different ways, imbuing privacy upon the user in the process. While the capability is often linked to nefarious activity, their appeal continues to grow in an age when data mining is as intrusive as ever.
Total Market-Cap $19.59 billion USD
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Although NFTs have been around for a few years now, it is only since the end of 2020 that these assets started to generate real interest. This interest is currently being fueled through two main use cases – sporting collectibles, and art. Supporting these assets are various networks which support the creation usage of NFTs, such as the Theta Network.
Total Market-Cap $28.8 billion USD
Stablecoins
While not as ‘flashy’ when compared to new asset types like NFTs, stablecoins continue to play a vital role in the overall world of digital assets. Stablecoins act as monetary conduits and safe havens in a sector rife with speculation and volatility.
Among the current crop of stablecoins, Tether continues to lead the way with a market-cap of $45 billion USD. Top competitors include USDC and GUSD.
Total Market-Cap $72.75 billion USD
Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Used as an umbrella term, DeFi refers to blockchain based technologies implemented in such a way to replace traditional financial tools/facilitators. While the use cases for DeFi are far-reaching, the most popular implementations to date would most likely be lending platforms and decentralized exchanges.
Total Market-Cap $117 billion USD
Bitcoin
Despite already being one of the top performing assets of all-time to date, Bitcoin shows no signs of slowing down. Over the course of 2020 and 2021, the worlds leading digital asset has finally managed to gain real acceptance amongst both retail and institutional investors alike. In mere months since their launch, Bitcoin based exchange traded funds in Canada alone boast over $1.3 billion in assets under management.
With a U.S. ETF expected to be approved sooner than later, and impending support by payment processors such as Visa, MasterCard and more, the following total may soon look miniscule.
Total Market-Cap $1.19 trillion USD
Crypto Overall
If you add it all up, where does the cumulative cryptocurrency market cap fall? One year ago, this would be at roughly $192 billion USD. Today’s market-cap dwarfs that of 2020, and continues to grow by the day.
Total Market-Cap $2.26 trillion USD
Largest Companies
For comparisons sake, the following is a list which highlights the market-caps of the worlds 10 largest companies. Based on these figures, if Bitcoin were a company, it would currently slot in at #6 and rising.
| 1. Apple | $2.25 trillion |
| 2. Microsoft | $1.95 trillion |
| 3. Saudi Aramco | $1.89 trillion |
| 4. Amazon | $1.70 trillion |
| 5. Alphabet | $1.52 trillion |
| 6. Facebook | $866 billion |
| 7. Tencent | $753 billion |
| 8. Tesla | $743 billion |
| 9. Alibaba | $654 billion |
| 10. Berkshire Hathaway | $614 billion |
*All figures are based at time of writing. Market-caps are fluid, and may fluctuate greatly*