Bitcoin and other digital currencies are in a tailspin. For the second day in a row, the market is showing substantial declines, with most cryptocurrencies falling 20 to 40% over the past 24 hours.
As of 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, the top 10 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, have seen their collective market share drop $134 billion in the past month. But take a slight step back and things aren’t quite as terrible as they appear.
That’s a staggering number (though not as shocking as the $100 billion in one-day losses the market posted yesterday). What has prevented the drop from being more catastrophic is the fact that six of the top 10 currencies are actually still in the black compared to a month ago.
In fact, if you remove Bitcoin’s $155 billion one-month drop in market capital from the equation, the sector is showing slight gains (thanks largely to Ethereum and Ripple, though both cryptocurrencies are still falling steadily from their highs). When Bitcoin’s losses are not factored into the back-of-envelope math, the total market cap for the remaining currencies in the top 10 is $21 billion higher than it was on Dec. 17, 2017.
How big a drag does that make Bitcoin? To put it in perspective, the one-month market cap drop in that cryptocurrency alone is greater than the total market cap of Mastercard, Boeing, and McDonald’s, according to data from PwC.
