Bitcoin continues to dominate the Cryptocurrency market, accounting for over 63% of the entire capitalization of this Asset Class.

This figure is potentially underestimating the significance of Bitcoin, as many of the 5,200 tokens that have been created from ICOs were funded by Bitcoin and Ethereum. Therefore, if you excluded the value of Bitcoin from those tokens that were initially funded using Bitcoin and rise and fall on its “coattails”, the real impact and importance of Bitcoin would be revealed. However, as we see more Security tokens being issued, which will be backed by real assets such as property, equities, commodities and bonds, the dominance of Bitcoin is likely to lessen. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) published a report, entitled ‘Understanding the crypto-asset phenomenon’. The report outlines the ECB's plan to develop a monitoring framework of the cryptocurrency market. 

Will we see statistical reporting and analysis by organizations, like the ECB, dividing their reporting on Cryptocurrencies between the current largely unregulated digital assets, that were mainly created as a result of an Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and the new regulated Security Token Offerings (STOs).

Source: Cryptocompare and ECB calculations

 

We continue to see trading volumes grow, as illustrated above, and greater institutional involvement as Facebook, Walmart, JP Morgan, etc announce the potential launch of their Cryptocurrencies. There is going to be a need for higher quality analysis and reliable data for regulators, investors and institutions alike.