35 million cryptocurrencies on the market

Today, there are 35 million cryptocurrencies in the market. In the last 24 hours alone, 162,932 new ones were created. These are all called altcoins and represent alternatives beyond Bitcoin. The total value of the cryptocurrency market—that is, the capital currently invested—amounts to €1,902,400,000,000. A lot of zeros, right? To put it in perspective, this figure is approximately 10% higher than Spain's GDP (an indicator that measures the wealth generated in a territory). Six months ago, it exceeded €3 trillion.

However, let's not kid ourselves: the cryptocurrency market has a clear leader. Bitcoin dominates with a 58.4% market share, followed by Ethereum with 10.2%. But what about the rest of the altcoins? Not all cryptocurrencies are created equal: we can't lump together established projects like Ethereum or Ripple with newly created cryptocurrencies. They all share high volatility and are currently experiencing an average drop of 70% from their peaks, even greater than Bitcoin's. Precisely because of this higher volatility, if Bitcoin rises sharply again, altcoins usually follow suit, often with even more dramatic movements. It's very rare for Bitcoin to rise while the rest of the market falls.

And what about newly created cryptocurrencies? These are a real lottery: they can multiply their value sevenfold in a day and plummet 90% the next. For a prudent investor, it's best to stay away from them. If you recall, Donald Trump created his own cryptocurrency about a year ago: it went from $1 to $40 in just two days and is currently worth around $3.50. The conclusion is clear: most investors have been trapped. Let's not even talk about investing; we'd be gambling with money.