Altcoin Market Capitalization Shrinks Despite Volume Boost Since 2017

On Nov. 19, 2017, just weeks before the current all-time highs would be set for the price and capitalization of Bitcoin and the crypto market overall, the 985 tokens with a known market cap represented a capitalization of around $244 billion - a similar zone to where the market is at currently.

With the capitalization of Bitcoin having grown 15% from $134.1 billion to $154.6 billion during the 24 months following November 2017, more than twice as many altcoins are competing for an increasingly shrinking share of the combined crypto market cap when compared to the altcoin bubble of 2017.Altcoins compete for diminishing market shareWhile 2019 has seen BTC produce an impressive recovery, the majority of altcoins have lost a significant market share when compared to 2017.As of Nov. 17, 2018, the combined crypto capitalization was approximately $186 billion after having shrunk by 21.7% over 12 months.

Since November 2017, the dominance of BTC had fallen from 56.5% to 52.6%, with altcoins gaining an overall 47.4% market share of crypto capitalization.

Despite the number of crypto assets having increased by a further 16.7% since November 2018, the combined altcoin capitalization reduced by roughly 8% to $80 billion during the past year.

The greater pluralism in the distribution of altcoin capitalization in 2018 can be largely attributed to a decline in the relative market share of Ether and Bitcoin Cash throughout the 12 months prior.

In just 12 months, XLM rose from the 20th-ranked altcoin, representing a relative market share of 0.6%, to the fourth-largest alternative cryptocurrency, with 5.5% of total altcoin capitalization.

From 14th with 0.88% in 2017 to rank fifth with 4.7% in 2018, while Tether grew from 19th with 0.7% to place sixth with 2%, and ADA grew from 18th with 0.7% to seventh with 1.8%, while TRX produced the most dramatic growth, climbing from the position of 53rd-largest altcoin with a relative market share of 0.1% to rank tenth with 1.4%.Altcoin capital centralizes during 2019During 2019, altcoin capitalization has significantly centralized among the top alternative currencies by market cap.

In 12 months, ETH has restored its ranking as the largest altcoin by market cap and increased its market share by a quarter, currently representing 25.1% of the total altcoin market capitalization.

XRP now ranks as the second-largest alternative cryptocurrency by market cap following a 39% drop in relative market share, which currently sits at 14.2%. Despite BCH seeing another 12-month decline in altcoin market share, the token retained its distinctive position as the third-largest alternative cryptocurrency by market cap, with BCH now representing 6% of altcoin capitalization.

LTC also saw a significant gain in market share, with LTC currently ranking as the fifth-largest alternative cryptocurrency by market cap after its relative market share increased by 66% to 4.7%.The sixth-largest altcoin by capitalization, Binance Coin, has risen from the 13th-ranked altcoin due to a 230% gain in market share and currently represents 3.9% of altcoin value.