Cryptocurrency Market

What cryptocurrencies actually are

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset that lives on a public blockchain — a shared ledger maintained by a distributed network of computers. Ownership is recorded in software rather than through a bank or broker, and transfers are settled by the network itself without a central clearing agent. Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first usable example; Ethereum, launched in 2015, extended the idea by adding a general-purpose programming layer on top of the ledger.

From a market-data perspective, cryptocurrencies behave more like commodities than like listed stocks. There is no quarterly earnings cycle, no balance sheet, and no cash flow in the traditional sense. Prices are driven by supply, demand, macro conditions, regulation, and reflexive narratives within the industry itself.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and everything else

Most of the sector's market capitalization is concentrated in a handful of assets, and coverage usually starts there:

• Bitcoin (BTC). The original cryptocurrency, with a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins. Often framed as "digital gold" because supply issuance is algorithmically predictable and there is no central issuer.
• Ethereum (ETH). A general-purpose smart contract platform. Most of the token and DeFi activity in the sector sits directly or indirectly on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks.
• Stablecoins. Tokens designed to hold a stable value — usually pegged to the US dollar — such as USDT and USDC. They function as on-chain cash and settle most of the trading volume on crypto exchanges.
• Layer 1 alternatives. Networks like Solana, BNB Chain, Cardano, and Avalanche compete with Ethereum on throughput and fees.
• DeFi tokens. Governance and utility tokens for decentralised applications — Uniswap, Aave, Chainlink, Maker, and others — whose value depends on the usage of their underlying protocol.

How crypto prices are quoted

Crypto quotes typically appear as a pair, the same way currencies do: BTC/USD, ETH/USDT, SOL/USD, and so on. The left-hand asset is the one being bought or sold; the right-hand asset is what it is being priced in. The same coin can trade at slightly different prices across exchanges, which is why professional data feeds often publish a volume-weighted reference rate.

Three terms appear on almost every crypto dashboard:

• Market cap. Circulating supply multiplied by current price. A rough measure of network value.
• 24h volume. Dollar value traded in the last 24 hours. Low volume means quotes can move sharply on relatively small orders.
• Bitcoin dominance. BTC's share of total crypto market cap. Rising dominance typically means capital is rotating out of altcoins into Bitcoin, or vice versa.

A market that never closes

Unlike equities or futures, the crypto market runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no opening bell, no daily settlement, and no overnight gap — Saturday afternoon and Tuesday 3 a.m. are equally valid trading sessions. Liquidity and participant mix shift by time zone, which can produce distinct Asia, Europe, and US "sessions" without formal trading hours.

Continuous trading has practical consequences. Price moves that happen over a weekend do not wait for Monday to be absorbed; derivatives positions can be liquidated at any hour; and funding rates on perpetual futures reset multiple times a day.

What moves crypto prices

Crypto markets tend to move on a mix of industry-specific and macro factors:

• Global liquidity and interest rates. Crypto has historically been highly correlated with risk assets like growth stocks. When central banks ease or tighten broadly, digital assets often move the same direction but with larger amplitude.
• Spot ETF flows. Once listed in major jurisdictions, spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs created a new, persistent buy/sell signal tied to institutional flows.
• Regulation and policy. Enforcement actions, tax rulings, and jurisdiction-level licensing can reprice entire segments of the market in a single headline.
• Protocol upgrades and on-chain events. Mergers, halvings, hard forks, and major protocol launches can alter supply schedules or usage dynamics.
• Security incidents. Exchange outages, smart-contract exploits, and bridge hacks frequently trigger short-term selloffs.

How to use this page

The overview widget above lets you scan top cryptocurrencies, DeFi tokens, and stablecoins without leaving the page. The heatmap gives you an instant read of which coins are leading and which are falling behind. For ranked lists with customisable metrics, use the screener; for deeper chart analysis, see the Advanced Charts page.

Last reviewed on April 24, 2026. Crypto assets are volatile and highly speculative. This page is general information, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any digital asset. See our Disclaimer.