The total value of the digital currency Bitcoin has exceeded the valuation of all silver holdings worldwide. According to calculations by the specialist portal “Infinite Market Cap”, all Bitcoins were worth more than 1.41 trillion US dollars (1.3 trillion euros) for the first time.
The oldest cryptocurrency thus left behind the total value of silver ($1.38 trillion). The calculation is based on estimates that say around 1.74 million tons of silver have been mined worldwide so far. On Monday afternoon, Bitcoin was trading on stock exchanges for around $71,700.
Bitcoin ETFs approved in January
The recent rapid rise in the price of Bitcoin was mainly due to large investors such as Grayscale, BlackRock and Fidelity, who have launched Bitcoin funds in the USA. These Bitcoin ETFs were approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January. They allow investors to invest in Bitcoin without having to directly purchase or hold the digital currency itself.
Bitcoin’s rally began last fall. Since the beginning of the year alone, digital money has increased by around 62 percent against the US dollar. Gold tops the list of the most valuable investment products in “Infinite Market Cap”. Here the total holdings worldwide are ten times the value of Bitcoin (14.7 trillion dollars). Listed companies then follow in the ranking: Microsoft is in second place with a market value of $3.02 trillion, followed by Apple ($2.64 trillion) and the AI chip manufacturer Nvidia (2.19 trillion).
Crashed after previous high
With the new Bitcoin all-time high, there is no guarantee that the Bitcoin price will continue to rise in the future. After the previous high of around 69,000 dollars on November 10, 2021, the price fell to below 17,000 dollars within a year, also because the scandal surrounding the criminal activities surrounding the crypto exchange FTX shook the confidence of investors.
The strong Bitcoin price development is also likely to factor in an event that is expected for April 20th: the next so-called halving. The reward that Bitcoin miners receive for verifying crypto transactions is halved. Ultimately, the process leads to a slower growing supply of Bitcoin, which in the past has usually resulted in rising prices.