Crypto Market Cap to Double to $5 Trillion by Year-End: Ripple CEO

The
value
of
the
cryptocurrency
market
could
almost
double
to
$5
trillion
by
the
end
of
the
year,
propelled
by
the
January

approval
of
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
in
the
U.S.
and
the
mining-reward
halving
due
later
this
month,
according
to
Ripple
CEO
Brad
Garlinghouse.

“I’m
very
optimistic.
I
think
the
macro
trends,
the
big
picture
things
like
the
ETFs,
they’re
driving,
for
the
first
time,
real
institutional
money,”
Garlinghouse
said
in
an
interview
with
CNBC.
“You’re
seeing
that
drives
demand,
and
at
the
same
time
demand
is
increasing,
supply
is
decreasing,”
said
Garlinghouse.

The
rate
at
which
new
bitcoin

(BTC)
are
produced
will
be

reduced
after
the
reward
halving,
scheduled
for
April
20.
That
event,
which
takes
place
roughly
every
four
years,
has
historically
preceded
a
bull
market
for
the
largest
cryptocurrency
by
market
value.
It
lowers
the
number
of
bitcoin
that
miners
are
awarded
for
approving
blocks
to
be
added
to
the
blockchain
by
50%.
This
month’s
cut
will
take
the
payment
to
3.125
BTC
per
block.

The
crypto
market
is
currently
valued
at
around

$2.68
trillion.
Bitcoin
has
gained
63%
since
the
start
of
the
year
and
recently
reached
record
highs
above
$73,000.
The

CoinDesk
20
Index,
a
measure
of
the
broader
crypto
market,
has
rallied
49%
in
the
same
period.

Despite
multiple
regulatory
crackdowns
in
the
U.S.,
Garlinghouse
said
he
remains
positive
on
the
future
of
crypto
regulation
in
the
country.
Last
June,
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
sued
crypto
exchanges
Coinbase
(COIN)
and
Binance,
alleging
they
listed
and
traded
unregistered
securities
in
the
form
of
various
cryptocurrencies.

“One
of
the
things
actually
I’ll
say
on
the
macro
tailwinds
for
the
industry:
I
think
we
will
get
more
clarity
in
the
United
States,”
he
said.
“The
U.S.
is
still
the
largest
economy
in
the
world,
and
it’s
unfortunately
been
one
of
the
more
hostile
crypto
markets.
And
I
think
that’s
going
to
start
to
change,
also.”

The
SEC
also
filed
a
lawsuit
against
Ripple,
a
blockchain-based
digital
payment
network,
alleging
it
sold
the

(XRP)
token
illegally.
Ripple
denies
the
claims.