2021 was an optimistic year for crypto assets. While prices have risen sharply, the top ten and top twenty rankings have also changed significantly in terms of market capitalization. A large number of coins have either been pushed down or taken into the top positions of the crypto-economy in terms of overall market valuation.
The top positions of crypto assets in 2021 are changing drastically
On December 27, 2020, a historical snapshot of crypto prices on that day shows that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are both ahead of the game in terms of the top two market valuations of crypto assets. This is still true today as both BTC and ETH are the two leading market leaders. However, on December 27, 2020, Bitcoin was valued at $ 26,272 per unit and BTC had a market capitalization of $ 488 billion. Additionally, Ethereum changed hands on the same day for $ 682 per unit and had a market cap of around $ 77.8 billion.
The top ten digital currencies as of December 27, 2020 according to coinmarketcap.com’s historic top coin index.
Fast forward to the December 26, 2021 stats, and BTC was trading for $ 50,809 per unit and had an overall market valuation of around $ 960 billion. ETH traded for $ 4,067 per coin on December 26, 2021 and held a market capitalization of around $ 483 billion. We know prices have changed since December 27, 2020, but BTC and ETH still lead the way in terms of the top crypto positions. On the other hand, the rest of the top 20 coins were shuffled like a deck of cards.
The top ten digital currencies as of December 26, 2021 according to coinmarketcap.com’s historic top coin index.
Tether (USDT) held the third largest market position last year and has risen to become the fourth largest crypto asset in terms of market valuation today. Last year, xrp (XRP) ranked fourth, but today XRP has risen to the seventh largest crypto coin position. A year ago, Litecoin (LTC) was the fifth largest crypto asset in terms of overall rating, but LTC has fallen back to 19th place. Similarly, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) had the sixth largest market valuation last year, but on December 26, 2021, BCH was hovering around 25th place.
Binance Coin (BNB) was able to expand its market position and is the third largest market as of December 26th, but a year ago BNB’s market capitalization held the seventh largest position. Chainlink (LINK) was in eighth place last year, but on December 26th, LINK dropped to the 20th coin market capitalization ranking. Cardano (ADA) hovered around the ninth largest market position last year but has moved up to sixth within a year. After all, Polkadot (DOT) was the 10th largest market and held that position on December 26th.
The new additions to the top ten include terra (LUNA) in ninth place, USDC has entered the eighth largest coin market capitalization ranking and solana (SOL) is now fifth. LUNA’s market capitalization was 67th last year, USDC was ranked 11th, and SOL was ranked 139th on December 27, 2020.
In addition to the top ten ranking, a large number of tokens from places 10 to 20 were also shuffled this year. Many coins moved forward and a multitude of tokens dropped the positions they once held last year. It shows that 12 months in the world of crypto can change things drastically.
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ada, Bitcoin, bitcoin cash, bnb, BTC, Cardano, Crypto Asset, Crypto Assets, Crypto Coins, DOT, ETH, Ether, Ethereum, LiNK, Litecoin, LUNA, Polkadot, SOL, Solana, Terra, Tether, Top 10, Top 20, USDC, USDT
What do you think of the top ten shake that happened this year? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments below.
Jamie Redman
Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a Florida-based financial tech journalist. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for bitcoin, open source code and decentralized applications. As of September 2015, Redman has written more than 5,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News on the disruptive protocols emerging today.
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