Generally speaking, market capitalization, or market cap, helps investors evaluate a company’s worth. Simply put, the number of outstanding shares multiplied by the value of one share will give you the market cap. Likewise, the crypto market cap is the number of crypto in circulation multiplied by the price of one crypto.
Crypto market cap is a main factor that makes crypto coins popular among investors. While market cap is one of the most defining factors determining a crypto’s market value, trading volume and price also play a vital role in the crypto’s overall ranking. Keeping this criteria in mind, let us first understand the difference between market cap and trading volume before we list out the top 10 cryptos by market cap.
Difference between market cap and trading volume
Market cap and trading volume are two important metrics that determine the value of a cryptocurrency. While both are important metrics, they represent different aspects of the market.
Market capitalization or market cap is a term common in traditional finance and crypto that represents the total value of a specific crypto. It is calculated by multiplying the current price of a token by the total number of coins in circulation.
Trading volume, on the other hand, is the sum of all buy and sell transactions of a cryptocurrency measured daily. It represents the coin or token’s activity and liquidity in the crypto market. The trading volume can vary daily depending on the specific crypto’s performance and investors’ buy-and-sell engagement.
Top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization
Market capitalization or market cap is a crucial metric that determines the value of a crypto. Investors often rely on the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization to gauge the performance and positioning of a specific crypto. As of 2 May 2024, the total global crypto market cap stood at a staggering $2.21 trillion. Let’s look at the cryptos with the highest market cap as of 2 May 2024.
| Crypto | Market cap |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $1,167,310,917,924 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $359,097,742,518 |
| Tether (USDT) | $110,606,681,948 |
| BNB (BNB) | $83,056,308,340 |
| Solana (SOL) | $61,572,861,142 |
| USD Coin (USDC) | $33,129,762,560 |
| XRP (XRP) | $28,858,300,963 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $19,128,603,651 |
| Toncoin (TON) | $17,884,241,194 |
| Cardano (ADA) | $16,245,722,007 |
Top 10 cryptocurrencies by price
Learning about crypto prices is important for investors as this can help them understand the crypto’s standing in the market. It can also assist investors in making buy/sell decisions, assessing the market sentiment, and making well-informed investment decisions. The table below lists the top 10 cryptocurrencies by price per unit, both in USD and INR. The prices shown are as of 2 May 2024.
| Crypto | Price in USD | Price in INR |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $59,092 | ₹4,926,269 |
| Yearn.finance (YFI) | $6,841 | ₹570,417 |
| cVault.finance (CORE) | $5,735 | ₹478,398 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,978 | ₹248,379 |
| Lido Staked ETH (STETH) | $2,975 | ₹248,338 |
| Maker (MKR) | $2,767 | ₹230,742 |
| BNB (BNB) | $561 | ₹46,815 |
| DFI.Money (YFII) | $476 | ₹39,043 |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | $427 | ₹35,691 |
| Bittensor (TAO) | $400 | ₹33,425 |
Top 10 cryptocurrencies by trade volume
Trade or trading volume is another key metric in determining the overall value of a cryptocurrency. This shows the value of a crypto bought or sold across the crypto market daily.
Please note that trading volumes are subject to changes and the figures mentioned below were last updated on 2 May 2024.
| Crypto | Trading volume |
| Tether (USDT) | $60,357,860,982 |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $36,516,180,696 |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $14,635,906,231 |
| First Digital USD (FDUSD) | $8,803,925,850 |
| USDC (USDC) | $8,448,353,056 |
| Solana (SOL) | $4,268,068,792 |
| WETH (WETH) | $1,757,089,220 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $1,737,813,202 |
| Pepe (PEPE) | $1,458,469,663 |
| XRP (XRP) | $1,371,628,684 |
Source: CoinMarketCap
What is crypto?
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies secured by cryptography. They are decentralized, meaning, a single person or an entity cannot influence the market. The most popular and largest crypto by market cap is Bitcoin with more than 50% dominance over the crypto market. Bitcoin’s market cap is currently $1.16T, the highest among all cryptocurrencies.
How to buy crypto?
The difficulty involved in buying cryptos is a thing of the past. With crypto exchange platforms like CoinSwitch, buying cryptos is a seamless experience. To buy crypto in India, all you have to do is:
Step 1: Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and download a crypto trading app of your choice. Ensure that the exchange you pick is Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) registered.
Step 2: Once the app is downloaded, sign up using the mobile number linked to your bank account.
Step 3: Complete the mandatory KYC procedure, using identity verification documents like Aadhaar and PAN.
Step 4: Add your bank details to start buying the crypto of your choice.
Step 5: Once the above steps are completed, go to the app, select the crypto you want to buy, add the amount, and click on buy. That’s it.
Conclusion
To sum up, understanding important metrics like market cap, trading volume, and prices of top cryptos is important. All three — crypto market cap, trading volume, and price — are major indicators of how the crypto market is faring. These will help investors decide on which crypto to buy.
