A $138 billion market and counting…
According to data provider CoinMarketCap, the cryptocurrency market currently (as of August 14) boasts of $137.7 billion in market capitalization, with Bitcoin being the dominant players commanding 50% of overall market cap alone. Together with its latest Bitcoin Cash offshoot, it commands about 52.7% of the market. Ethereum follows next with about 21% of market cap, as of August 14. US investors, seeking indirect exposure to the cryptocurrency market, can look at the ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW).
About 10% of the ARKW ETF is invested in Bitcoin
The ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW) has 9.7% of its portfolio invested in Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which is its top holding. The ARKW invests in companies that are focused on next generation internet technology, such as blockchain, cloud, big data, e-commerce etc. Its top 5 holdings as of August 14, were:
| Weight | Company | Ticker |
| 9.68% | Bitcoin Investment Trust | GBTC |
| 6.66% | Amazon.com Inc | AMZN |
| 4.67% | Athenahealth Inc | ATHN |
| 4.35% | Nvidia Corp | NVDA |
| 4.00% | Tesla Inc | TSLA |
The ARKW is up 49.5% year-to-date (as of August 12 close), +86.25% since its inception on September 30, 2014. Certain other Bitcoin ETFs are awaiting the SEC approval in the US (SPY) (IWM). However, risk averse investors must bear in mind that the cryptocurrency market is subject to a good amount of volatility.
The cryptocurrency roller coaster
The cryptocurrency market seems to be on a rollercoaster. After a good upward ride since its inception, the digital currency market now seems to be facing turbulent stretches. The market took a slight dip in mid-July (July 16th) when the aggregate market cap was down to $66 billion, from a high of $114.5 billion as seen on June 20th. The market rode back up to a level of $137.7 billion as of August 14.
Market opinion on the scope and growth of cryptocurrency remains divided. While certain central banks such as the Bank of Albania (of all places) have been warning investors against cryptocurrency, monetary regulators in Singapore, Russia (RSX) and China (FXI) are etching out plans and testing prototypes of their own cryptocurrency.
The latest buzz around the cryptocurrency market pertains to the Bitcoin civil war, as discussed in the next part of the series.
