The world’s original and most deeply capitalized cryptocurrency has grown up fast. Bitcoin recently made it to the top 15 largest currencies in the world in December, according to Bitcoin credit card company Bold. It is the only crypto among sovereign central bank currencies comprising the top 20 currencies in the world.
#Bitcoin is the 14th largest currency in the world. pic.twitter.com/PvKqvYAtjx
— Bold – the ₿itcoin Credit Card (@BoldBitcoin) December 20, 2023
Bitcoin Ranks 13th Among Global Currencies
Data from CEIC and blockchain intelligence company CoinGecko back that up, showing that Bitcoin’s market capitalization was $732.5 billion on Nov. 19.
Meanwhile, the next largest global currency was India’s rupee, with a money supply (M1) in November of $693.1 billion valued in U.S. dollars, according to CEIC data.
Bitcoin was right behind Switzerland in November. The Swiss franc had a money supply (M1) last month of $749.1 billion in U.S. dollars, CEIC data shows.
As Bitcoin price continued to rise in December on spot ETF anticipation, the world’s original crypto overtook the Swiss franc and is closing in on the South Korean won, with a total market cap of $840 billion on Tuesday.
Interestingly, if Bitcoin’s price were $919,305 today, it would surpass the U.S. dollar’s M1 money supply of $18 trillion, making it the largest global currency.
As cryptocurrency investor Anthony Pompliano recently pointed out on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bitcoin would only need to match gold’s market cap to trade at half a million per coin.
But it has a long way yet to go. Bitcoin is currently worth more than half of silver’s total market cap.
Are Cryptocurrencies Currencies?
The American Association for the Advancement of Science posed the question, “Are cryptocurrencies currencies?” The December 22 research article in the journal Science suggested the answer is not yet:
“The introduction of digital currencies is perhaps the most important development in monetary economics in the past decade. However, a currency’s defining role is to serve as a medium of exchange, and cryptocurrencies have yet to be widely adopted as such.”
But a Nov. 10 article in the Geopolitical Monitor, “Bitcoin and Global Hegemony,” suggested that Bitcoin has potential as a major reserve currency:
“The introduction of stateless cryptocurrencies like BTC represents a potential catalyst for the renewal of the global monetary order or, at the very least, for a growing diversification.”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in early December that Bitcoin is not a threat to the U.S. dollar but may instead be key to “extending Western civilization” and protecting the U.S. and its allies from de-dollarization.