The total crypto market capitalization reached an all-time high of $3.65 trillion on Monday, December 2. This figure is nearly $600 billion higher than the previous peak of just under $3.1 trillion during the 2021 bull run, three years ago.
Notably, most of this increase occurred in the past month, with $1.2 trillion invested in digital assets in November. To put it into perspective, the market has grown tremendously, reaching a value higher than the total capitalization of October 2023 in just one month.
Currently, the crypto market has surpassed the market capitalization of the largest company in the world, Apple, which recently surpassed Nvidia again, according to data from CompaniesMarketCap.
“We are entering a phase of strong development, a wave of growth. Now is the time to change our mindset,” shared Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise.
Bitcoin's explosive November, Altcoins shining
Bitcoin had an impressive November, rising 40%, mainly thanks to Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election. Kobeissi Letter describes Bitcoin's price surge as “truly historic,” noting that the price has increased by 49% in the past four weeks, marking the strongest gain since August 2021.
“Bitcoin's price has increased by ~130% since the beginning of the year and is on track for its third-best year in the past decade,” added Kobeissi Letter.
However, it is the new altcoins that are the main drivers of growth over the past weekend. Ethereum seems to have turned resistance into support, reaching a six-month high of $3,750 on December 2, after a 47% increase over the past month.
It is poised to break out of the wedge chart structure that has held since March, according to analysis by ‘Rekt Capital’ on X on Monday.
XRP also did not lag behind, reaching a six-year high of $2.48 on December 2, after a 30% increase. This helped XRP surpass Solana and Tether to become the third-largest digital asset with a market capitalization of $138 billion.
Other major moves
The market capitalization of Cardano has surpassed $40 billion as ADA rose more than 9% in a day to reach $1.18 during Monday morning trading in Asia. This is the highest price for ADA since March 2022.
Avalanche (AVAX) surpassed $48 after increasing 10% in a day, bringing the price back to April levels. Stellar Lumens (XLM) also had a strong weekend, with its price rising to $0.574, the highest since May 2021, mainly thanks to major moves by XRP.
Hedera (HBAR) exploded, increasing an additional 44% in a day to reach $0.248 on December 2, while Litecoin (LTC) jumped 20% to exceed $125 for the first time since March 2022.
Currently, the CMC Altcoin Season Index is at 76, officially signaling altcoin season. This index uses the top 100 coins on CoinMarketCap (CMC), excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, and compares them based on price performance over the last 90 days. If 75% of the top 100 coins outperform Bitcoin over the past 90 days, then it is altcoin season. Conversely, if only 25% or fewer outperform Bitcoin, then it is Bitcoin season. This index is calculated on a scale of 1 to 100 and is updated daily.
Altcoin Index | Source: CoinMarketCap
