Over the short period that cryptocurrencies have existed, they have experienced exponential growth and a level of acceptance. They have also experienced some dramas and applications that have attracted the attention of the world. The year 2013 marked the period when cryptocurrencies gained mass popularity, and this had a positive effect on their prices but also the global crypto market cap.

Fast forward five years after coinmarketcap.com began tracking cryptocurrencies, the crypto market cap has grown to $130 billion as of now. In the beginning, there were only fifteen coins listed. Currently, there are around 2073 coins on the website.

To gain a better understanding of how the crypto market cap has evolved, let have a look at how the top six crypto coins have performed since coinmarketcap.com began tracking virtual currencies.

The beginning

The world’s largest cryptocurrencies tracker came to existence in 2013. By May 26 of the same year, there were only 15 crypto coins listed on the platform. At the time, the crypto market cap was $1,548,982,054.

Since the beginning, Bitcoin has managed to dominate other cryptocurrencies in the crypto market cap which has seen it occupy an average of 50% of the global cap. Its influence has led to the emergence of many other altcoins whose value the top crypto coin has dictated.

Forbes named 2013 as the year of Bitcoin. It was the year the currency won the hearts of many hungry investors. It managed to rally and break past the 1,000 mark for the first time. Specifically peaking at $1,242 per coin and in the process surpassing the price of an ounce of gold that traded at $1,240 at the time.

The explosion of its price saw the coin become a topic of discussion everywhere, from seminars to online forums. It also led to contradictory viewpoints from different factions. Some saw crypto as a scam while others saw them as exciting and attractive projects.

Interestingly, both factions seem to be very convincing with their stances. Also, the high volatility the crypto market experiences now and then doesn’t help its cause.

The top six cryptocurrencies in 2013 according to crypto market cap

Bitcoin

After an anonymous figure by the name Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008, Bitcoin came to existence officially on January 3, 2009. Nakamoto was rewarded 50 BTC after mining the genesis block. Since then, the top crypto coin has experienced various ups and downs. It’s incredibly volatile which possess a high risk. It was also created to be immune to the government and any other central authority.

It has been an inspiration to the creation of other alternative coins that build on its technology to offer additional functionalities. According to the crypto market cap, it was worth $1,477,901,418 in 2013 and currently it’s still the top crypto coin with a market cap of $69,815,599,094.

Litecoin

It’s an open source peer-to-peer crypto coin that allows instant payments to be made to anyone, at any location in the world. It’s the creation of Charlie Lee a former Google employee. By improving on Bitcoin’s transaction speed; the coin became a hit instantly with users. Within 24 hours after launch, it managed to register a 100 percent gain. On November 2013, its price peaked leading it to cross the $1 billion mark in crypto market cap.

Fast forward to 2018 and the second position on the crypto market cap has been taken by XRP, Ripple’s native currency. Litecoin currently sits at position seven with a crypto market cap of $1,919,668,713.

Namecoin

It’s an altcoin that was launched on April 18, 2011, after a BitDNS discussion that went on the Bitcointalk Forum in December 2010. Back in may 2013, its market cap was $5,306,810. Currently, the altcoin is number 366 according to the crypto market cap with a market capitalization of $5,962,372 — just a slight increase from its market cap five years ago.

Peercoin

The crypto coin was created to stand as the most secure digital currency with the lowest cost. It utilizes both the proof-of-stake and proof-of-work algorithms. It also gives users a one percent yearly PPC return for strengthening their peer-to-peer network through mining. Currently, the coin sits at number 160 with a market cap of $18,063,174.

Novacoin

The coin was developed and launched by Balthazar in 2013 and quickly rose to number five on the crypto charts. It introduced unique block generation features that supported separated target limits. In 2013 its market cap stood at $1,198,172. However, things haven’t turned out so well for it years later as its currently ranked at number 703 with a crypto market cap of $1,356,336.

Terracoin

Another altcoin that came up trying to improve on Bitcoin’s security and support faster transaction speeds. In May of 2013, it had a market cap of $919,126. However, in July of the same year, it was hacked, and its reputation took a huge hit. Currently, the coin sits at number 894 with a crypto market cap of $562,462.