Ethereum Misses Flippening as Bitcoin Dominance Surges to 66%

In June 2017, the cryptocurrency market was in a state of flux, with altcoin prices exhibiting significant volatility. Bitcoin, which was on the verge of a historic surge to nearly $20,000 by the end of the year, saw its price remain relatively stable in some weeks. Meanwhile, other coins like BitShares experienced massive jumps of up to 250%, while Stratis and DigiByte saw declines of up to 50% during the same period.

Ethereum, during this time, was on the brink of a significant boom in token projects. A study indicated that $7 billion was invested in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) throughout 2017, with nearly all of this investment directed towards Ethereum-based projects. This amount was purportedly four times more than the equity investments into crypto companies during the same period.

The price of Ethereum's native token, ETH, surged as investors flocked to coin offerings. On June 12, 2017, the market capitalization of ETH reached $36.8 billion, coming within 17% of surpassing Bitcoin's market cap of $44.3 billion. Had Bitcoin's price remained stable, ETH would have only needed to increase from $400 to $470 to overtake Bitcoin and become the top cryptocurrency by market cap.

However, this scenario never materialized. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a 60% decline in value over the following month. This was followed by a 10x increase in Bitcoin's value by the end of the bull market, while Ethereum only saw a 9x increase. Ethereum never recovered the ground it lost during this period.

Despite this, Ethereum came closer to surpassing Bitcoin than any other major cryptocurrency. Litecoin reached 10% of Bitcoin's market cap in late November 2013, with a market cap of $11.8 million compared to Bitcoin's $1.18 billion. XRP, on the other hand, reached more than half of Bitcoin's market cap in May 2017, just a month before Ethereum's attempt to surpass Bitcoin.

By late June 2017, it became evident that the "Flippening"—the event where Ethereum's market cap would surpass Bitcoin's—was no longer a realistic possibility. Currently, Ethereum's market value is around 13% of Bitcoin's, with Bitcoin's dominance in the cryptocurrency market at almost two-thirds, its highest point since January 2021. Bitcoin remains the status quo in the cryptocurrency world.