Markets Update: Several Coins Surging as Crypto-Economy Value Tops $600 Billion

This week on December 19 the cryptocurrency market capitalization for all digital assets has crossed a significant $609bn valuation. Digital currencies are becoming more valuable every day, and this week many of them touched new all-time price highs.

The Top Ten Cryptocurrencies Are All Seeing Percentage Gains Except for BTC
A lot has been happening in the world of digital asset markets this week as more money has flowed into the entire economy this year than ever before. While a lot of spectators and traders have been watching bitcoin core (BTC) markets carefully as it came close to touching $20k, other digital currencies have made some big gains. Bitcoin has dropped around 7 percent in the past 12 hours while the top ten market capitalizations are all in green. The most prominent jump in value today in the top ten is from the New Economy Movement (NEM) network as the protocol’s token is up over 25 percent at $0.93 per NEM.
Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and NEM Steal the Show
Ethereum (ETH) markets are up over 16 percent reaching an all-time high of over $850 per ETH. Trade volume for the digital currency has been high as ethereum markets have traded over $4.3bn in the last 24 hours. The digital asset holds the second highest market capitalization at $81bn at press time and holds the second highest trade volume today just under bitcoin core.

The third highest market cap is held by bitcoin cash (BCH) as the price has seen some significant gains over the past three days. BCH trade value is up by 15 percent as the currency has reached a high of $2,540 across global exchanges. Currently, the price is hovering around $2,529 with $3.1bn in trade volume swapped in the last 24 hours. The most prominent exchange swapping the most BCH at the moment is Bitfinex as it captures over 73 percent of the volume according to Cryptocompare data. Bitcoin core (BTC) is the most traded currency right now with bitcoin cash, and the USD has taken the second position, pushing the Korean won out of its path. Market optimism for BCH has been high since the largest BTC payment processor worldwide announced BCH merchant and default invoice integration.
What’s in Store for the Cryptocurrency Economy in 2018?
Markets are going crazy, and many people are jumping around from blockchain to blockchain like a game of musical chairs. Bitcoin core (BTC) dominance is lower than it’s been in weeks as the cryptocurrency captures only 49 percent of the $609Bn market share. BTC and many other digital assets have had an extremely profitable year, and many are wondering what’s in store for the cryptocurrency economy in 2018.

Where do you see cryptocurrency markets heading in 2018?