$175 Billion: Record Bitcoin Price Lifts Crypto Market Cap to New Heights

 The crypto markets rang in the beginning of September by setting a flurry of records. The bitcoin price crossed yet another milestone, soaring past $4,800. The ethereum price continued to inch toward $390, while the litecoin price surged to a record $79. This market rally lifted the total value of all cryptocurrencies from $169 billion on August 31 to $175 billion today, setting yet another all-time high for the total cryptocurrency market cap.Chart from CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin Price Soars Past $4,800

As the month of August waned, the bitcoin price broke past $4,700 to set a new all-time high. The advance continued on Friday, thrusting the bitcoin price over $4,800. At the time of writing, the global bitcoin average price was $4,820 according to CoinMarketCap, but several exchanges priced BTC much higher. On Bitstamp, the bitcoin price was $4,844, while Poloniex’s LTC/BTC pair priced bitcoin at $4,903.Bitcoin Price Chart from BitstampAltogether, the bitcoin price rose 3% for the day and has risen 10% over the past week. Bitcoin’s market cap is now just a few hundred million short of $80 billion.

Ethereum Price Edges Toward $390

The ethereum price joined bitcoin in its rally, rising another 2% to come within pennies of $390. Although the ethereum price has not had any jaw-dropping single-day rallies over the past week, it has consistently trended upward, bringing its 7-day rise to 17%. At the time of writing, the ethereum price was $389, which translates into a $36.7 billion market cap. Ethereum is now just $20 away from the all-time high it set in mid-June.Ethereum Price Chart from CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin Cash Price Shoots for $600

For the most part, the bitcoin cash price has been left out of this week’s market rally. In fact, it fell about $100 between August 25 and August 30, which contributed to a severe decline in network hashpower. Over the past two days, however, the bitcoin cash price has experienced minor gains and, at the time of writing, is sitting just above the $600 level. This gives bitcoin cash a market cap of $9.4 billion.Bitcoin Cash Price Chart from CoinMarketCap

Litecoin Prices Surges to $75

The litecoin price is on a tear, having risen more than 50% in the past week alone. This morning, the litecoin price punched through the $70 threshold and continued rising from there. Litecoin rose as high as $79, shattering its previous all-time high, although it has since tapered to a present value of $75. Litecoin now has a market cap of just under $4 billion.Litecoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCapThe present bullishness among litecoin investors appears to stem from developer Charlie Lee’s revelation that he had successfully tested both the Lightning Network Daemon and Zap, a Lightning wallet, on the LTC mainnet. Once Lightning–an innovation made possible by the activation of Segregated Witness–is active on both the litecoin and bitcoin networks, users will be able to make “atomic swaps,” which are essentially cross-network transactions.

Altcoin Markets Forge Ahead

The altcoin markets continued to forge ahead on Friday, although a few major coins could not keep up. The Ripple price advanced another 8%, bringing its present value to $0.251. The NEM and IOTA prices experienced declines of 1% and 3%, respectively, while the Dash price ticked up 3% to $381. Monero, ranked 9th, held steady at $139.Altcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCapTo round out the top 10, ethereum classic and NEO swapped places. NEO, who previously held that position, fell 6% to $32–the culmination of a disappointing week. The ethereum classic price, on the other hand, surged 22% to nearly $20.Ethereum Classic Price Chart from CoinMarketCapThe billion-dollar club’s membership held steady at 14 for the day, but that number could increase if the market rally continues. Fifteenth-ranked BitConnect has raised its market cap to $910 million and could become the next cryptocurrency to cross $1 billion.