Despite December Slump, Bitcoin (BTC) and Cryptocurrency Market Cap Still Significantly Higher in 2024

In recent weeks, much has been said about the wealth erased from various cryptocurrencies’ valuation.

Recent weeks have seen a lot of attention paid to the massive wealth erosion in the valuations of various cryptocurrencies. For instance, in the seven days leading up to December 24 – and despite the rally on the day – Bitcoin's (BTC) valuation collapsed by nearly $200 billion.

However, for all the frustration emerging from the apparent cancellation of the ‘Santa Claus’ rally, 2024 remains an exceptionally strong year across the board, with the many coins and tokens being overwhelming winners in the last 12 months.

Bitcoin up more than $1 trillion in 2024

Bitcoin itself, despite erasing approximately $200 billion in the last ten or so days, remains more than $1 trillion more valuable as an asset at press time on December 27 than it was on January 1.

Picks for you

Specifically, data retrieved by Finbold from CoinMarketCap reveals that at the start of the now-outgoing year, BTC's market cap stood at $828 billion, while at press time, it is as high as $1.91 trillion.

The situation is very similar for digital assets as a whole. TradingView data shows the total cryptocurrency valuation on January 1 as $1.67 trillion and reveals that, on December 27, it is at $3.27 trillion – a $1.6 trillion difference.

Still, the slightly less encouraging facet of the chart is that it simultaneously means that Bitcoin's dominance among coins and tokens remains significant, as BTC accounts for approximately two-thirds of the growth.

On the flip side, this fact could bolster the ‘alt season’ narrative for 2025 as it could hint that other cryptocurrencies are somewhat undervalued.

Could 2025 be as strong for cryptocurrencies as 2024?

Finally, it is worth pointing out that for the successes of 2024 – and stagnation in the year’s final month – predictions for the new year remain exceedingly bullish.

Though Bitcoin has again taken center stage with 12-month price targets running as high as $800,000, albeit with a rising consensus that the next move for BTC could be a plunge toward $70,000 or even $60,000, it is far from the only digital asset investors are bullish about.

XRP, for example, is seen as boating a particularly grand growth protection as it appears poised to fully clear the regulatory roadblocks with some on-chain analysts – like Ali Martinez on X, to be specific – seeing a potential rally to as high as $48: 2,100% above the press time prices at $2.18.