What's a market cap and why should I pay attention to it?

The market cap, short for market capitalization, is a measurement that represents the market value of the cryptocurrency. It is a useful metric in determining the demand and movement of different crypto currencies. A larger market cap is considered a healthy thriving currency, whereas a low one would indicate low success. Market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of coins or tokens in circulation by the current price of a single unit. So if a cryptocurrency has 10 million single coins in circulation at a $10 price point each, we know the market cap would be $100 million. Not surprisingly, both Bitcoin and Ethereum typically take the first and second place spots for the highest cryptocurrency marketcaps. Coinmarketcap.com is a great place to start your research!