The bitcoin price held relatively stable on Friday, continuing to flirt with $14,000 amidst its general downtrend. The ripple price, meanwhile, leaped nearly 35 percent and has begun to nip at ethereum’s heels as the two cryptocurrencies jockey for the second place in the market cap rankings.
Buoyed by ripple’s rally, the cryptocurrency market cap grew to $584.8 billion, a single-day increase of approximately five percent from Thursday when it was valued at $554.5 billion.
Bitcoin Price Flirts With $14,000
The bitcoin price continued to flirt with the $14,000 mark on Bitfinex, the largest exchange with a BTC/USD trading pair. After fluctuating between $13,826 and $15,131, the bitcoin price ended the day on the lower end, at $14,014. Due to large premiums on Bithumb and other Korean exchanges, the global average bitcoin price is currently $14,444, which translates into a market cap of $242.2 billion.
As CCN has reported, at least a portion of bitcoin’s recent downtrend can be attributed to South Korea’s imposition of new regulations on domestic bitcoin exchanges. Although analysts believe the regulations will benefit the markets over the long-term and help bitcoin mature into a mainstream asset in Korea, traders continue to exhibit uncertainty about how these regulations will affect the markets in the short-term.
Ripple Aims to Unseat Ethereum
The day’s most interesting action occurred just one spot lower, where a surging ripple challenged ethereum for the second post in the market cap rankings.
The ethereum price posted a three percent gain for the day, bringing it to $721 on Bitfinex and $742 overall, which translates into a $71.8 billion market cap.
The ripple price, meanwhile, exploded by 35 percent, raising it to just below $1.60 on Bitfinex and increasing its global average to $1.83. At the height of its rally, ripple managed to surpass ethereum in the rankings to become the second-most valuable cryptocurrency, although by the time of writing it had slipped back into third with a market cap of $70.9 billion.
Cardano Rises to Sixth
Led by ripple, the total altcoin market cap grew to $340 billion, bringing it within $25 billion of its all-time high. However, the gains were not evenly distributed.
Both bitcoin cash and litecoin posted moderate declines, with BCH dropping seven percent to $2,439 and LTC dipping five percent to $240. Cardano, meanwhile, made a 20 percent rally, raising its market cap to $12.1 billion and vaulting ADA to the sixth spot in the rankings.
IOTA, now ranked seventh, increased by four percent, although its market cap continued to languish just below the $10 billion mark. The NEM price rose 13 percent and appears poised to reach dollar parity, while the dash price rose one 