Coinspeaker partnered with ICOBox to provide our readers with this weekly analysis conducted by Professor Dima Kornilov and Dima Zaitsev devoted to cryptocurrency and digital assets markets changes that took place in March 2018, including over the last week (March 5-11, 2018).
Information as of March 12, 2018
This report was created by:
- Professor Dmitrii Kornilov, Doctor of Economics, Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and Leading Analyst at ICOBox;
- Dima Zaitsev, PhD in Economics, Head of International Public Relations and Business Analytics Department Chief at ICOBox;
This report presents data on the cryptocurrency market changes during 2017-2018. Special emphasis has been placed on an analysis of the changes that took place in March 2018, including over the last week (March 5-11, 2018).
1. General cryptocurrency and digital assets market analysis (by week, month, quarter). Market trends.
1.1 General cryptocurrency and digital assets market analysis (by week, month).
Table 1.1. Trends in capitalization of the cryptocurrency market and main cryptocurrencies from January 1, 2017, to March 11, 2018*
| Parameter | 1-Jan-18 | 1-Feb-18 | MoM, % | 1-Mar-18 | MoM, % | 4-Mar-18 | DoD, % | 11-Mar-18 | DoD, % | |
| 1 | Total market capitalization, USD billion | 612.9 | 517.2 | -15.6% | 440.0 | -14.9% | 463.3 | 5.3% | 361.7 | -21.9% |
| 2 | Altcoin market capitalization, USD billion | 376.2 | 344.8 | -8.3% | 264.6 | -23.3% | 269.0 | 1.7% | 212.0 | -21.2% |
| Altcoin dominance, % | 61.4% | 66.7% | – | 60.1% | – | 58.1% | – | 58.6% | – | |
| 3 | Bitcoin price, $ | 14 112.2 | 10 237.3 | -27.5% | 10 385.0 | 1.4% | 11 497.4 | 10.7% | 8 852.8 | -23.0% |
| Bitcoin market capitalization, USD billion | 236.7 | 172.4 | -27.2% | 175.4 | 1.8% | 194.3 | 10.8% | 149.7 | -22.9% | |
| Bitcoin dominance, % | 38.6% | 33.3% | – | 39.9% | – | 41.9% | – | 41.4% | – | |
| 4 | Ethereum price, $ | 755.8 | 1 119.4 | 48.1% | 856.0 | -23.5% | 856.2 | 0.0% | 685.3 | -20.0% |
| Ethereum market capitalization, USD billion | 73.1 | 109 | 49.1% | 83.8 | -23.1% | 83.9 | 0.1% | 67.2 | -19.8% | |
| Ethereum dominance, % | 11.9% | 21.1% | – | 19.0% | – | 18.1% | – | 18.6% | – | |
| 5 | Bitcoin Cash price, $ | 2 534.8 | 1 491.1 | -41.2% | 1 204.8 | -19.2% | 1 267.9 | 5.2% | 1 002.6 | -20.9% |
| Bitcoin Cash market capitalization, USD billion | 42.8 | 25.3 | -41% | 20.5 | -19.0% | 21.6 | 5.3% | 17.1 | -20.9% | |
| Bitcoin Cash dominance, % | 7% | 4.9% | – | 4.7% | – | 4.7% | – | 4.7% | – | |
| 6 | Litecoin price, $ | 231.7 | 163.7 | -29.3% | 203.1 | 24.1% | 210.2 | 3.5% | 177.5 | -15.6% |
| Litecoin market capitalization, USD billion | 12.6 | 9 | -28.8% | 11.3 | 25.0% | 11.7 | 3.6% | 9.9 | -15.4% | |
| Litecoin dominance, % | 2.1% | 1.7% | – | 2.6% | – | 2.5% | – | 2.7% | – | |
| 7 | Smith + Crown Index | 27 543 | 24 709 | -10.3% | 24 051 | -2.7% | 24 952 | 3.7% | 20 158 | -19.2% |
| 8 | Volume (24h) 4 crypto, USD billion | 15.7 | 17.3 | 10.2% | 10.1 | -41.4% | 8.9 | -11.8% | 8.8 | -1.1% |
| Market cap 4 crypto, USD billion | 441.6 | 351.6 | -20.4% | 315.1 | -10.4% | 335.1 | 6.4% | 265.1 | -20.9% | |
| ZAK-4 Crypto index | 3.6% | 4.9% | – | 3.2% | – | 2.7% | – | 3.3% | – | |
| 4 crypto dominance, % | 72% | 68% | – | 71.6% | – | 72.3% | – | 73.3% | – | |
| 9 | Volume (24h) 8 crypto, USD billion | 17.2 | 19 | 10.2% | 11.3 | -40.3% | 9.9 | -12.7% | 9.8 | -0.7% |
| Market cap 8 crypto, USD billion | 488.6 | 393.4 | -19.5% | 349.3 | -11.2% | 368.9 | 5.6% | 291.4 | -21.0% | |
| ZAK-8 Crypto index | 3.5% | 4.8% | – | 3.2% | – | 2.7% | – | 3.4% | – | |
| 8 crypto dominance, % | 79.7% | 76.1% | – | 79.4% | – | 79.6% | – | 80.6% | – |
* Data as of March 11, 2018 (all figures calculated at 03:00 UTC)
** Since December 1, 2017, the ZAK-4 index has been calculated using the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash.
*** When calculating the ZAK-8 index, the cryptocurrencies with the largest capitalization are used. At present (March 11, 2018), the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Litecoin, Stellar, and NEO are used.
Data source: coinmarketcap.com,smithandcrown.com
Over the past week cryptocurrency market capitalization fell by more than 20%, from $463.3 billion to $361.7 billion (as of 03:00 UTC, see Table 1.1), and since the beginning of the year capitalization has fallen by nearly $250 billion.
The Smith + Crown Index for the week decreased slightly from 24,952 to 20,158.
The dominance of the four and eight largest cryptocurrencies as of 03:00 UTC on March 11, 2018, equaled 73.3% and 80.6%, respectively, with bitcoin dominance edging downward to 41.4% (see Table 1.1).
The capitalization of the cryptocurrency market dipped twice, on March 7 and 9 (see fig. 1), which may be connected with various events, including:
- The demand by the SEC that cryptocurrency exchanges trading in tokens that meet the definition of a security under the Securities Act register with the Commission as national securities exchanges.
- The hacker attack on the Binance Exchange, as a result of which funds were withdrawn from a number of accounts through the purchase of Viacoins (VIA), the price of which instantly increased by thousands of percent. In effect, this amounted to the pumping of Viacoin. Ultimately, it was the users that rely on trade bots who suffered (those who use API keys).
- The announcement of the sale of $400 million in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash by the trustee of the bankrupt Mt. Gox exchange and the possible sale of additional digital assets of the exchange in the amount of $1.8 billion (see Table 1.4).
Figure 1. Cryptocurrency market capitalization since February 1, 2018
Overall, during the period from March 5-11, 2018, the price of 27 of the top 500 cryptocurrencies and digital assets appreciated (or stayed the same), resulting in a decline in cryptocurrency market capitalization by approximately $100 billion.
Over the past week the number of cryptocurrencies with a capitalization of more than $1 billion decreased from 25 to 22, with the price of all of them falling (except Tether).
The coins and tokens from the top 500 that demonstrated the largest growth in prices are given in fig. 2.
The growth and fall of cryptocurrency prices over the past week (March 5-11, 2018)
The prices of some cryptocurrencies may fluctuate from -50% to +50% over the course of a single day. Therefore, when analyzing cryptocurrency price trends, it is advisable to use their average daily amounts on various cryptoexchanges.
Below we consider the top 10 cryptocurrencies that demonstrated the most significant change in price over the past week (fig. 2-3). In this regard, only those coins and tokens included in the top 500 in terms of market capitalization (according to the data of coinmarketcap.com) were considered.
Data source: coinmarketcap.com
The change in price was calculated based on average daily data.
Figure 2. Largest growth in prices over the past week
Tables 1.2 and 1.3 show the possible factors or events that could have influenced the fluctuation in prices for certain cryptocurrencies. Table 1.4 shows the possible factors or events that could have influenced the cryptocurrency market in general.
Table 1.2. Factors or events that could have led to a growth in cryptocurrency prices over the past week
| № | Coins and tokens | Symbol | Price growth over the week, % | Average price in $ on Mar 11, 2018 | Market capitalization, USD billion | Factors or events that could have led to a growth in cryptocurrency prices over the past week |
| 1 | Credits | CS | 58.61% | $0.603217 | 0.08 | On March 6 Credits tokens become available on the largest exchange, Kucoin (https://twitter.com/creditscom/status/970982439945494528), leading to the growth in the token’s 24-hour trading volumes to $10 million, thereby stimulating a growth in the token’s price. |
| 2 | AsiaCoin | AC | 40.96% | $0.008077 | 0.01 | The prices of AsiaCoin, B3Coin, Farad and Bunnycoin showed a positive trend this week. However, it is difficult to tie this to any events that took place this week. The growth in the prices of these coins can be explained by their heightened volatility due to their small 24-hour trading volumes. For example, the Volume 24h of B3Coin ranged from $0 to $35 thousand, according to the data of CoinMarketCap (https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/). |
| 3 | B3Coin | KB3 | 30.04% | $0.017711 | 0.01 | -//- |
| 4 | Farad | FRD | 24.56% | $0.060541 | 0.01 | -//- |
| 5 | B2BX | B2B | 17.78% | $0.853949 | 0.01 | Despite the fact that no events concerning B2BX took place during the week, its daily trading volumes fell sharply by the end of the week, from almost $1 million on March 5 to a mere $50 thousand on March 11 (https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/b2bx/#charts). Under these circumstances, the coin’s growth can be written off to volatility. |
| 6 | DraftCoin | DFT | 15.88% | $1.60 | 0.01 | There were several favorable news items for DraftCoin this week that triggered an increase in its price. They include the news on the revision and improvement of the technical aspects of the project (https://twitter.com/btcdraft/status/971897125012467717), and the start of the bounty program to bring in new users (https://twitter.com/btcdraft/status/970833790816825344) |
| 7 | BunnyCoin | BUN | 14.91% | $0.000082 | 0.01 | -//- |
| 8 | Ormeus Coin | ORME | 13.89% | $1.50 | 0.03 | The start of the week was very fortuitous for Ormeus Coin, with its price appreciating on the back of the news on the expansion of the project’s business in New York (https://twitter.com/ormeuscoin/status/970708695918276608). Despite its subsequent fall by the end of the week, the price still showed growth over the week. |
| 9 | MinexCoin | MNX | 13.73% | $29.15 | 0.10 | The main news item having a positive effect on the price of MinexCoin this week was the announcement of a possible breakthrough in Atomic Swap technology (https://twitter.com/CoinIdol/status/972481944998039553). |
| 10 | KickCoin | KICK | 13.32% | $0.078436 | 0.03 | The KickCoin team participated in a Swiss blockchain conference this week (https://twitter.com/whalepool/status/971816282285895680). Perhaps its team was successful in drumming up interest in its product at the conference, leading to a growth in the price of the coin. |
A depreciation in price was seen for 473 coins and tokens of the top 500 cryptocurrencies and digital assets by capitalization over the past week. Out of the top 100, only Tether and Emercoin did not fall in price. Tether’s price is tied to the US dollar, and Emercoin appreciated by +2.2%, which is not a bad showing against the backdrop of an overall market depreciation by more than 20%. This growth may be partially due to the continuing joint Asian tour of the EmerCoin team and BitFury Group.
The ten cryptocurrencies that showed the most significant drops in price are shown in fig. 3.
Figure 3. Largest fall in prices over the past week
| № | Coins and tokens | Symbol | Fall in price over the week, % | Average price in $ on Mar 11, 2018 | Market capitalization, USD billion | Factors or events that could have led to a fall in cryptocurrency prices over the past week |
| 1 | AirSwap | AST | 52.70% | $0.213044 | 0.03 | The price trend of all the coins indicated in this list mirrors overall cryptocurrency market trends. From the start of the week until March 9, cryptocurrency market capitalization plunged by nearly 30%, followed by a small rebound. All 10 coins from the list were very similar in the amplitude of their fluctuations, meaning that they reacted to the overall tone of the news, which had a negative impact (see Table 1.4). |
| 2 | All Sports | SOC | 51.20% | $0.037154 | 0.02 | |
| 3 | Hackspace Capital | HAC | 50.19% | $0.031902 | 0.01 | |
| 4 | Profile Utility Token | PUT | 48.78% | $0.377795 | 0.01 | |
| 5 | MediShares | MDS | 48.44% | $0.117643 | 0.06 | |
| 6 | DATA | DTA | 48.35% | $0.009082 | 0.04 | |
| 7 | OneRoot Network | RNT | 47.88% | $0.042425 | 0.01 | |
| 8 | IOStoken | IOST | 47.80% | $0.017527 | 0.15 | |
| 9 | SunContract | SNC | 47.53% | $0.193789 | 0.02 | |
| 10 | Maecenas | ART | 47.11% | $0.529871 | 0.02 |
Table 1.4 shows events that took place from March 5-11, 2018, and had an impact on both the prices of the dominant cryptocurrencies and the market in general, with an indication of their nature and type of impact.
Table 1.4. Key events of the week having an influence on cryptocurrency prices, March 5-11, 2018
| № | Factors and events (link to source) | Date of news | Description | Nature of impact | Type of impact |
| 1. | Ripple Powered Mobile App to Provide On-Demand Domestic Payments in Japan [source: Ripple.com] | A consortium of Japanese banks will issue a mobile payment app developed using Ripple technology by autumn 2018. The consortium includes 62 banks, representing 80% of the Japanese banking sector. Together, they want to create an improved payment system for their customers. | Ripple ⇑ | Favorable | |
| 2. | Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets [source: sec.gov] | March 7, 2018 | On March 7 a new document was published on the official website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission that requires all cryptoexchanges trading in tokens that meet the definition of a security under the Securities Act to register with the Commission as national securities exchanges. | Market ⇓ | Unfavorable |
| 3. | Japanese Authorities Issue Punishments to Several Cryptocurrency Exchanges [source: CNBC] | March 8, 2018 | Japan’s financial regulator has demanded that seven Japanese cryptoexchanges improve their work, including the recently hacked exchange Coincheck. The changes in their work are aimed at improving the measures to combat money laundering and to prevent the financing of terrorism. | Market ⇓ | Unfavorable |
| 4. | Mt. Gox Trustee Unloads Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Holdings Worth $400 Million [source: Coinspeaker] | March 8, 2018 | Japanese lawyer Nobuaki Kobayashi, who is acting as the trustee of the Mt. Gox exchange which went bankrupt in 2014, sold $400 million in bitcoins to settle debts to creditors. He also announced that he intends to continue the sale of bitcoins to the tune of $1.8 billion. | BTC ⇓ Market ⇓ | Unfavorable |
| 5. | Belgium Warns of 19 Cryptocurrency Trading Platforms Showing Signs of Fraud [source: Bitcoin.com] | March 10, 2018 | Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) published a list of 19 cryptoexchanges that may be involved in fraudulent activity, and has recommended that users distrust companies that do not disclose their details. | Market ⇓ | Unfavorable |
To analyze trading activity on cryptocurrency exchanges, the ZAK-n Crypto index is calculated (see the Glossary). The values of the ZAK-4 Crypto and ZAK-8 Crypto indices are presented in Tables 1.1, 1.5.a, and 1.5.b. In early March the 24-hour trading volumes (Volume 24h) for the four dominant cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple) equaled from $7.7 billion to $12.2 billion (Table 1.5.a).
The value of the ZAK-4 Crypto fluctuated from 2.7% to 4.5%. These are high numbers, but only approximately half of what they were in January and February, when the index reached 10% (for example, at the time of the downward adjustment of the cryptocurrency market on February 6, 2018). This attests to a partial decline in the activity of the dominant cryptocurrencies on the market.
Table 1.5.a. Daily ZAK-4 Crypto index calculation (from March 1, 2018, to March 11, 2018)
| Crypto | Bitcoin (BTC) | Ethereum (ETH) | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | Ripple (XRP) | 4 Crypto | ||||||||||
| Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Volume (24h) 4 crypto | Market cap 4 crypto | ZAK-4 Crypto index | |
| Date | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | USD billion | USD billion | % |
| Mar 11, 2018 | 8 853 | 6.3 | 149.7 | 685 | 1.6 | 67.2 | 1 003 | 0.5 | 17.1 | 0.80 | 0.5 | 31.1 | 8.8 | 265.1 | 3.3% |
| Mar 10, 2018 | 9 351 | 5.4 | 158.1 | 730 | 1.5 | 71.6 | 1 071 | 0.4 | 18.2 | 0.85 | 0.4 | 33.4 | 7.7 | 281.4 | 2.7% |
| Mar 9, 2018 | 9 415 | 8.7 | 159.2 | 702 | 2.2 | 68.9 | 1 035 | 0.5 | 17.6 | 0.83 | 1.0 | 32.3 | 12.4 | 277.9 | 4.5% |
| Mar 8, 2018 | 9 951 | 7.2 | 168.2 | 753 | 1.9 | 73.8 | 1 095 | 0.4 | 18.6 | 0.87 | 0.5 | 34.1 | 10.0 | 294.8 | 3.4% |
| Mar 7, 2018 | 10 804 | 8.8 | 182.6 | 816 | 2.2 | 80.0 | 1 206 | 0.5 | 20.5 | 0.92 | 0.8 | 36.1 | 12.2 | 319.3 | 3.8% |
| Mar 6, 2018 | 11 500 | 6.8 | 194.4 | 854 | 1.9 | 83.7 | 1 264 | 0.4 | 21.5 | 0.95 | 0.9 | 37.3 | 10.1 | 336.9 | 3.0% |
| Mar 5, 2018 | 11 532 | 6.5 | 194.9 | 867 | 1.9 | 84.9 | 1 287 | 0.4 | 21.9 | 1.01 | 1.7 | 39.7 | 10.4 | 341.4 | 3.1% |
| Mar 4, 2018 | 11 497 | 6.1 | 194.3 | 856 | 1.7 | 83.9 | 1 268 | 0.4 | 21.6 | 0.91 | 0.8 | 35.4 | 8.9 | 335.1 | 2.7% |
| Mar 3, 2018 | 11 102 | 6.7 | 187.6 | 857 | 1.7 | 83.9 | 1 275 | 0.4 | 21.7 | 0.91 | 0.3 | 35.5 | 9.0 | 328.7 | 2.8% |
| Mar 2, 2018 | 10 977 | 7.6 | 185.5 | 872 | 1.9 | 85.4 | 1 285 | 0.4 | 21.8 | 0.93 | 0.3 | 36.2 | 10.2 | 328.9 | 3.1% |
| Mar 1, 2018 | 10 385 | 7.3 | 175.4 | 856 | 1.9 | 83.8 | 1 205 | 0.5 | 20.5 | 0.90 | 0.5 | 35.3 | 10.1 | 315.1 | 3.2% |
The 24-hour trading volumes (Volume 24h) for the eight dominant cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin, Stellar, NEO, and Cardano) equaled $9.8 billion by the end of last week (Table 1.5.b), i.e. 3.4% of their market capitalization. The ZAK-4 Crypto and ZAK-8 Crypto indices are considered in more detail in Tables 1.5.a and 1.5.b.
Table 1.5.b. Daily ZAK-8 Crypto index calculation (continuation of Table 1.5.а)
| Crypto | Stellar (XLM) | Cardano (ADA) | NEO (NEO) | Litecoin (LTC) | 8 Crypto | ||||||||||
| Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Price Open | Volume (24h) | Market cap | Volume (24h) | Market cap | ZAK-8 Crypto index | |
| Date | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | $ | USD billion | USD billion | USD billion | USD billion | % |
| Mar 11, 2018 | 0.29 | 0.03 | 5.4 | 0.210 | 0.2 | 5.4 | 85.4 | 0.12 | 5.6 | 178 | 0.7 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 291.4 | 3.4% |
| Mar 10, 2018 | 0.32 | 0.02 | 5.8 | 0.225 | 0.1 | 5.8 | 93.3 | 0.12 | 6.1 | 188 | 0.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 309.6 | 2.8% |
| Mar 9, 2018 | 0.31 | 0.06 | 5.8 | 0.221 | 0.2 | 5.7 | 91.7 | 0.22 | 6.0 | 176 | 0.9 | 9.8 | 13.9 | 305.2 | 4.6% |
| Mar 8, 2018 | 0.33 | 0.05 | 6.1 | 0.248 | 0.2 | 6.4 | 100.5 | 0.16 | 6.5 | 186 | 0.6 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 324.1 | 3.4% |
| Mar 7, 2018 | 0.34 | 0.06 | 6.2 | 0.285 | 0.2 | 7.4 | 105.4 | 0.30 | 6.8 | 197 | 0.8 | 10.9 | 13.5 | 350.7 | 3.9% |
| Mar 6, 2018 | 0.35 | 0.04 | 6.5 | 0.296 | 0.1 | 7.7 | 112.3 | 0.20 | 7.3 | 211 | 0.7 | 11.7 | 11.1 | 370.0 | 3.0% |
| Mar 5, 2018 | 0.36 | 0.10 | 6.7 | 0.300 | 0.2 | 7.8 | 120.1 | 0.21 | 7.8 | 214 | 0.6 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 375.5 | 3.1% |
| Mar 4, 2018 | 0.35 | 0.10 | 6.5 | 0.296 | 0.1 | 7.7 | 121.8 | 0.18 | 7.9 | 210 | 0.6 | 11.7 | 9.9 | 368.9 | 2.7% |
| Mar 3, 2018 | 0.32 | 0.05 | 5.9 | 0.293 | 0.1 | 7.6 | 124.3 | 0.13 | 8.1 | 214 | 0.7 | 11.9 | 10.0 | 362.1 | 2.8% |
| Mar 2, 2018 | 0.34 | 0.04 | 6.3 | 0.304 | 0.1 | 7.9 | 130.0 | 0.15 | 8.4 | 210 | 0.6 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 363.1 | 3.1% |
| Mar 1, 2018 | 0.33 | 0.05 | 6.2 | 0.312 | 0.2 | 8.1 | 133.7 | 0.28 | 8.7 | 203 | 0.7 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 349.3 | 3.2% |
Despite the fall in cryptocurrency market capitalization over the past week, there was good news last week that could lead to growth in the future. A plan for forming a financial technology sector in 2018 was posted to the website of the EU.
In particular, blockchain technology has been assigned an important role in the plan. In China, one of the participants in the largest Chinese advisory board on political issues suggested at a People’s Political Consultative Conference that the issue of creating a state cryptoexchange be considered.
Table 1.6 gives a list of events, information on which appeared last week, which could impact both the prices of specific cryptocurrencies and the market in general.
Table 1.6. Events that could have an influence on cryptocurrency prices in the future
| № | Factors and events (link to source) | Date of news | Description | Nature of impact | Type of impact |
| 1. | PayPal Files Patent For System To Speed Up Cryptocurrency Transaction Times [source: Cointelegraph] | March 6, 2018 | The interest of companies such as PayPal in developing improvements for cryptocurrencies shows the promise of the industry as a whole, and facilitates its growth. | Market ⇑ | Favorable |
1.2 Market trends
The weekly cryptocurrency and digital asset market trends from October 1, 2017, to March 11, 2018, are presented as graphs (Fig. 1.1-1.5)*.
Table 1.7. Legends and descriptions of the graphs
| Global Figures | Figure** | Description |
| Total cryptocurrency market capitalization, USD million | Fig. 1.1 | This figure shows cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization trends from October 1, 2017. |
| The rate of market change (as a % to the beginning of 2017) | Fig. 1.1 | This figure shows the % change in cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization compared to January 1, 2017. |
| Change in the market capitalization (in USD million compared to previous period) | Fig. 1.2 | This figure shows the weekly change in USD million (increase or decrease) in cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization from October 1, 2017. |
| The rate of market change (as a % compared to the previous period) | Fig. 1.2 | This figure shows the % of weekly change (increase or decrease) in cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization from October 1, 2017. |
| Number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets | Fig.1.3 | This figure shows the trends in the increase of the number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets circulating on cryptocurrency exchanges. On January 1, 2017, their number was 617, and as of March 11, 2018, this number had already reached 1,523. |
| Average market capitalization, USD million | Fig. 1.3 | This figure reflects the growth in the average cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization from October 1, 2017, i.e. the ratio between the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies and digital assets and their number. |
| Forecast of total cryptocurrency market capitalization | Fig. 1.4, 1.5 | This figure shows the time trend (forecast) change in cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization. |
* Data as of March 11, 2018, 00:00 UTC
** NB! Average daily data are given in the graphs below. For this reason, the figures in the graphs may differ from the data in Table 1.1, where all figures were calculated at 03:00 UTC.
These differences in the values may be significant during periods of high cryptocurrency market volatility.
Data source: coinmarketcap.com
Figure 1.1. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization (Q3 2017 – Q1 2018)*
Figure 1.1 shows a graph of the weekly cryptocurrency market change from October 1, 2017, to March 11, 2018. Over this period, market capitalization increased from $146.9 billion to $360.1 billion, a growth of 1,934% relative to the start of 2017. Therefore, everyone who entered the cryptocurrency market in early 2017 was able to receive high returns due to market growth. Since the beginning of 2018, those who have been speculating on a bear market have found themselves in the best position. Over the past week (March 5-11, 2018), capitalization decreased from $456.6 billion to $360.1 billion (as of March 11, 2018, based on the average figures from coinmarketcap.com).
Figure 1.2. Change in market capitalization (Q3 2017 – Q1 2018)
The market is susceptible to sudden and drastic fluctuations. The highest growth rate in Q4 2017 (December 17-24, 2017) was around $200 billion, or 54%. During the first week of January, market capitalization increased by approximately $250 billion, or 44%.
Already, seven of the first ten weeks in the first quarter of this year have been “in the red”, i.e. capitalization fell based on the results for the week. Last week the market shrunk again by nearly $100 billion, or 21% (with due account of average daily data, see fig. 1.2).
Figure 1.3. Number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets (Q3 2017 – Q1 2018)
Since the beginning of October 2017, the total number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets considered when calculating market capitalization has increased from 1,091 to 1,523. Their number remained practically the same over the last week, and average capitalization dropped from $300 million to $236.4 million. Over the past month, 58 new coins and tokens have appeared on coinmarketcap.com, but it should be noted that a number of other coins and tokens were also excluded from the list.
Figures 1.4 and 1.5. Forecast of total cryptocurrency market capitalization
Trading in bitcoin futures. In its weekly reports, which are usually published on Wednesdays, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) shows that on March 6, 2018, there were approximately two and a half times less “long” contracts, which reflect the clients’ expectation of a growth in the price, than there were “short” contracts, which reflect the clients’ expectation of a fall in price (and this has been the situation for the last six weeks).
If you compare these data with the data on January 23, 2018 (seven weeks ago), the situation was the opposite (there were two times less “short” contracts), i.e. “long” contracts predominated on the Cboe. One can conclude that for the sixth week in a row most traders on this market expect the Bitcoin price to fall.
The Glossary is given in the Annex.
Annex – Glossary
| Key terms | Definition |
| Market capitalization | Value of an asset calculated based on its current market (exchange) price. This economic indicator is used to assess the total aggregate value of market instruments, players, and markets. [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org]. |
| Cryptocurrency market capitalization | The market value of an individual coin or token circulating on the market. |
| Total cryptocurrency market capitalization | The market capitalization of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, i.e. the aggregate market value of cryptocurrencies and digital assets (coins and tokens) circulating on the market. |
| Dominance | Market share, i.e. the ratio of market capitalization of a particular cryptocurrency (coin, token) to total cryptocurrency market capitalization. Expressed as a %. |
| Not Mineable | A coin that is not mineable. The term is used for cryptocurrencies (coins, tokens) which cannot be mined or issued through mining. |
| Pre-mined | A pre-mined coin. The term is used for cryptocurrencies (coins, tokens) which are issued through mining, and a certain number of coins (tokens) have been created and distributed among certain users at the start of the project. |
| The rate of market increase (as a % compared to the beginning of the year) | The rate of market increase (as a % compared to the start of the year), i.e. by how many % points did market capitalization increase compared to the start of the year. |
| The growth rate of the market (as a % to the beginning of the year) | The rate of market growth (as a % compared to the start of the year), i.e. by how many times did market capitalization grow compared to the start of the year. |
| Increase in market capitalization (in USD million compared to the previous period) | Increase in cryptocurrency and digital asset market capitalization (in USD million compared to the previous period), i.e. by how many USD million did market capitalization increase over the period. |
| The rate of market increase (as a % compared to the previous period) | The rate of market increase (as a % compared to the previous period), i.e. by how many % points did market capitalization increase over the period. |
| The market growth rate (as a % compared to the previous period) | The market growth rate (as a % compared to the previous period), i.e. by how many times did market capitalization grow compared to the previous period. |
| Number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets | Number of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. At the beginning of 2018 over 1,300 cryptocurrencies and digital assets (coins and tokens) were circulating on the market. |
| Average market capitalization | Average market capitalization, i.e. the ratio of the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies and digital assets to their number. |
| ZAK-n Crypto index | The index is calculated as a percentage and represents a ratio between the trading volume (transactions) on cryptocurrency exchanges per day (Volume 24h) for n dominant cryptocurrencies to their total market capitalization. ZAK-4 Crypto index calculations include four dominant cryptocurrencies with the greatest market capitalization: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Ripple. ZAK-8 Crypto index calculations include the trading volume and market capitalization for eight cryptocurrencies. |
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