Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows helped aid the oldest crypto’s surge above the $49,000 mark. Bitcoin’s move higher makes its market capitalization bigger than that of Wall Street stalwarts, including Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla and American payment provider Visa.

BTC Ranks No.8 Among Global Assets

Off a weeks-long sprint of 16.7% gains, Bitcoin is now more valuable than some of Wall Street’s favourite companies. Bitcoin currently boasts a price of $49,893, putting the top crypto’s market cap at $979 billion.

Were BTC a U.S.-listed stock, it would rank as the eighth-largest by market cap, leapfrogging Wall Street giants such as Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, and Visa, data from CompaniesMarketCap suggests.

Tesla sits at a $611 billion valuation; Berkshire Hathaway at $859 billion; Visa, meanwhile, boasts a $562.51 billion valuation.

Bitcoin’s ascent is particularly notable in comparison to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, which holds a modest 34th spot out of 100 assets. Bitcoin’s growing influence and, by extension, the wider crypto market, on the global financial stage becomes even more apparent because of this development.

Bitcoin Ascendance Fuels Lofty Predictions

Bitcoin smashed its current lifetime high of $69,044 back in November 2021, during the last parabolic bull market. At the time, the global cryptocurrency market cap momentarily topped $3 trillion. At publication time, the global market cap is sitting at $1.93 trillion.

Many crypto enthusiasts are hopeful that Bitcoin’s recent upswing — largely fueled by mammoth United States spot BTC ETF inflows and positive market sentiment ahead of April halving — will put the stubborn crypto winter to bed and trigger an unprecedented boom for the crypto industry.

Case in point, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju forecasts a phenomenal 160% growth for the Bitcoin price, anticipating a $112,000 price tag this year or a “worst case” scenario figure of at least $55,000.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ February 12, 2024 6:24 pm