Yahoo Finance Combined value of digital coins tops $1.2trn as Bitcoin hits $40,000 again
The combined market value of over 6,000 digital coins has topped $1.2 trn (£870bn), data from CoinGecko has shown.
It comes as the value of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) crept back over the $40,000 mark this week after a crypto rally stirred by Tesla (TSLA) chief executive Elon Musk.
Bitcoin had recently fallen below $30,000 after suffering its worst week on record last month, but it was up more than 6% on Saturday and around 20% higher on the week.
It is trading at $40,412 at the time of writing, pushing closer to its all-time high of $42,000.
Last week Musk changed his Twitter bio to Bitcoin. This week he then went on to post a series of comments on Twitter about the cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE-USD).
The digital currency, which uses a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot, first started up as a joke in 2013 but has seen its market capitalisation pass $6bn.
Musk first tweeted just the word “Doge”, followed by “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto”, and “No highs, no lows, only Doge”. He also posted a Lion King meme of him holding up the dogecoin dog as if it were Simba.
He said at the time: "They are really just meant to be jokes, but you know Dogecoin was made as a joke to make fun of cryptocurrencies obviously, but fate loves irony and often as a friend of mine says that the most ironic outcome or I'd say the most entertaining outcome and the most ironic outcome would be that Dogecoin becomes the currency of earth in the future.”
ur welcome pic.twitter.com/e2KF57KLxb
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2021
The tweets sent the price of dogecoin spiking against the dollar on Thursday. It was up 45% against the dollar to $0.0484. Dogecoin has risen around 800% this year so far.
“Anything Musk tweets about shoots higher because he has such a strong following both on social media and as a businessman,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.
“People will literally invest in him and his ideas, and don’t care what the fundamentals are.”
Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second-largest digital coin, also had a stellar rally this week, surging past $1,700 for the first time ever.
Investors are awaiting the launch of ether futures contracts from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange next week. Trading in ether futures is set to start Monday.
READ MORE: Cryptocurrency dogecoin soars after Elon Musk tweets
Bitcoin started 2020 at around $7,000 per coin, however, despite its rise in the last year, the cryptocurrency remains extremely volatile and experts continue to remain sceptical about using it as an investment.
Last month, the City watchdog warned consumers that they should be prepared to lose all their money if they invest in products promising higher returns from virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. The comment kick-started Bitcoin’s recent decline.
“The FCA is aware that some firms are offering investments in cryptoassets, or lending or investments linked to cryptoassets, that promise high returns,” the regulator said at the time.
“Investing in cryptoassets, or investments and lending linked to them, generally involves taking very high risks with investors’ money. If consumers invest in these types of products, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”
WATCH: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency?
