Bitcoin (BTC) market cap surpasses Amazon's valuation to hit $2.2T, marking "Bitcoin Pizza Day"

Market data shows that Bitcoin (BTC) had a market cap of $2.205 trillion at the time of writing, $70 billion more than the $2.135 trillion Amazon valuation.

The market cap of the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), surpassed that of retail and tech behemoth Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on “Bitcoin Pizza Day.”

Market data shows that Bitcoin had a market cap of $2.205 trillion at the time of writing, $70 billion more than the $2.135 trillion Amazon valuation.

“By surpassing Amazon in terms of capitalization, Bitcoin has attracted even more attention from the non-crypto audience,” said Alex Obchakevich, founder of Obchakevich Research.

Obchakevich said the latest rally “will strengthen confidence in Bitcoin and lead to new injections into the crypto market.” The surge came as Bitcoin set a new all-time high and traded above $110,000, which Obchavich said will “attract new investors to large funds.”

Obchakevich noted that institutional players continue to expand their role in the digital asset space:

Large investors are becoming increasingly interested in Bitcoin. As the crypto market recovers, we can expect to see even more activity from institutional players, which will be critical for the next stage of the bull market.

Hassan Khan, the CEO of Bitcoin liquidity platform Ordeez, told Cointelegraph that “this is a structural change.” He explained that “Bitcoin is no longer simply a hedge, it’s in the process of becoming a benchmark currency.”

Crypto market approaches new highs

According to CoinMarketCap data, the total cryptocurrency market cap stood at $3.49 trillion at the time of writing. While high, this is still nearly 6% lower than the all-time high of $3.71 trillion reported at the end of 2024.

More CoinMarketCap data shows that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw nearly $604 million of net inflows on May 21. The current open interest on crypto derivatives is $756.16 billion for perpetual swaps and $3.24 billion for futures.

Looking into the future, Obchakevich shared his view on Bitcoin’s direction:

Considering the current macroeconomic situation and the actions of central banks, we can expect to see continued interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from both individual and institutional investors. This could lead to further gains for cryptocurrencies in the second half of 2024. However, it's important to note that the market is constantly changing, and we may see different trends emerge.

Khan said that “large net inflows to ETFs and increasing open interest demonstrate that institutional confidence is growing.” Looking forward, he said:

I think we’ll continue to see Bitcoin break new all-time highs in the second half of 2024. We’re already seeing signs of that with Bitcoin setting a new ATH at $110,000 today.

As Bitcoin rises, it’s likely to attract even more attention from mainstream media and financial institutions, which could lead to a broader adoption of cryptocurrencies among the general population.

Today is a special day for Bitcoin

Today, May 22, is “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” a recurrence commemorating May 22, 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made the first documented purchase of goods using Bitcoin, paying 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas.

“What was once considered a highly speculative risk has evolved into a serious asset class,” said Ulli Spankowski, chief digital officer at Boerse Stuttgart Group.

Spankowski added that, nowadays, Bitcoin “boasts a market capitalization of over 2 trillion US dollars, ranking it as the fifth-largest asset globally, behind gold and the three largest publicly traded companies.”