Bitcoin's current market cap is more than double of India's most valued company

Bitcoin is notching new heights every couple of days. In a week’s time, the exchange rate for the cryptocurrency has grown over 20 percent. On November 28 the value of one bitcoin was USD 9,791 and on December 3, it reached its all-time high of USD 11,828, according to Coindesk Bitcoin Price Index.

As the exchange price has surged, the valuation of all the circulating bitcoins, or as it is called, the market cap of bitcoin reached USD 198 billion (Rs 12.75 lakh crore) on December 3—highest ever.

That means the market cap of the bitcoin is more than that of any Indian company listed on any of the stock exchanges in the country. In fact, it is more than the market cap of top two companies — Reliance Industries and TCS — combined, which is, Rs 10.83 lakh crore.

SLIDESHOW: Bubble or not! Facts you might not know about bitcoin rally

The market cap of Ethereum — the second most valued cryptocurrency is smaller than just four Indian companies — Reliance Industries, TCS, HDFC Bank and ITC. On December 5, the market cap of Ether was USD 45 billion (Rs 2.89 lakh crore).

Also Read: 10 cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ether that have crossed $1 billion valuation in no time

The market cap of top five Indian companies (as of December 5) is:- Reliance (Rs 5.7 lakh crore), TCS (Rs 5.06 lakh crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 4.68 lakh crore), ITC (Rs 3.09 lakh crore) and HUL (Rs 2.72 lakh crore).

Globally, the market cap of bitcoin is smaller than just 30 public companies, according to Forbes World’s Biggest Public Companies list. The companies whose valuation stands lower than bitcoin include behemoth MNCs like Coca-Cola (USD 182 billion), Walt Disney (USD 178 billion), Toyota (USD 171 billion), Intel (USD 170 billion), PepsiCo (USD 159 billion), BP (USD 114 billion), etc.

If we take into account the total market cap of all the cryptocurrencies, which stands at USD 350 billion, it would be lower than just six public companies: Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and Facebook.

Also Read: Explainer: What is bitcoin and how does it work?

Nations like Greece, New Zealand, Czech Republic and Hungary have lower GDP than bitcoin’s market cap according to World Bank’s data.

Also Read: Energy consumed by bitcoin miners around the world is more than over 150 countries

Electricity consumed by bitcoin miners is already 31.6 TWh, placing it above countries like Serbia, Denmark, and Belarus in terms of electricity consumed in a year.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd