The Ethereum market capitalization has surpassed that of all the altcoins in the crypto market for the first time since February 2021. In a screenshot shared by a Twitter user, the Ethereum market cap, currently at $213.8 billion, exceeds all that of altcoins, including major crypto projects like Solana, Cardano, Dogecoin, etc. This is happening for the first time in over 28 months.
Ethereum Outperforms Altcoins
As of June 20, Bitcoin dominated the cryptocurrency scene with a market cap of over $541.9 billion, representing nearly 50% of the total crypto market cap, currently at $1.1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Ethereum’s market capitalization can be attributed to several factors. A key is that Ethereum enjoys a first-mover advantage in its sector, like Bitcoin. The platform is the first to implement smart contracts and the longest-standing platform operating with high reliability, nearing 100%.
Consequently, it has been adopted broadly and continues to anchor projects, including Aave and Maker, that manage billions of crypto assets.
Besides, the platform’s decentralization and security mean the platform anchors most decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) activity. As of June 20, data from DeFiLlama shows that Ethereum’s DeFi protocols cumulatively manage over $25.2 billion of assets, representing over 50% of DeFi’s total value locked (TVL).
The high level of community engagement, through validator count, means Ethereum is secured by nodes operated across the globe. For instance, on-chain data shows that there are 623,096 live validators who, on average, have staked 32.18 ETH to secure the network and only stand a chance to validate Ethereum blocks and receive ETH rewards.
The distribution of validator nodes across the globe enhances the network’s security, thereby adapting users who must pay ETH when transacting on-chain.
Bitcoin Dominates Crypto
While Ethereum’s market share increases, Bitcoin’s is pushing higher and becoming more valuable. As the coin edges higher, pushing above the $27,500 level on June 20, its dominance stands at around 49.9%, highlighting its role in the crypto scene. Earlier today, on June 20, Bitcoin’s dominance rose above 50% for the first time in 2 years.
Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency asset declared property and, thus, a commodity in the United States. This endorsement validates Bitcoin and has seen its prices supported in the past few days when altcoins, including Polygon (MATIC) and Cardano (ADA), have seen double-digit losses following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s allegation that they are examples of “unregistered securities.”