Bitcoin is the undeniable king of cryptocurrencies, and certainly it has the highest market cap by far. Surprisingly there are cryptocurrencies more expensive than Bitcoin on a per coin basis, which is perhaps a fact few people are aware of. These cryptos are Bit20 (BTWTY), 42-coin (42), Project-X (NANOX), and bitBTC (BITBTC).
Bit20 (BTWTY)
The most expensive cryptocurrency in existence, out of the 2,100 cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap, is Bit20. The market cap of Bit20 is merely USD 85,000, versus the USD 65 billion Bitcoin market cap, but there is only a maximum supply of 1 Bit20 coin. Therefore, even though the market cap of Bit20 is minimal and trading volume is low, it is the most expensive crypto on a per coin basis, since the 1 coin that exists holds the entire market cap. Bit20 is actually a weighted crypto index fund that includes 20 cryptocurrencies, and it is tradeable on the BitShares decentralized exchange. Due to the decline in the crypto market, when Bit20 re-balances it is expected to drop to USD 30,000, but that will still leave it in the #1 spot for most expensive crypto. During the peak of the bull market in January 2018 Bit20 reached a price of USD 1.6 million, the all-time record for the price of a single cryptocurrency coin.
42-coin (42)
42-coin is a cryptocurrency that has been around since 2014, and like the name suggests there is a maximum supply of 42 coins. This coin is a reference to the Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, where 42 is determined to be the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Each 42-coin is currently worth USD 24,000, with a total market cap near USD 1 million. Back when 42 coin was released its price briefly exceeded USD 1 million each, due to the fact that less than 1 42-coin was in circulation at the time combined with speculative hype. During the peak of the crypto rally in January 2018 42-coin briefly exceeded USD 100,000 each.
Project-X (NANOX)
Project-X has a maximum supply of 1 coin, but at this time only 0.078264 NANOX are in circulation. The market cap is a negligible USD 1,651, but this yields a price per coin near USD 21,100. NANOX has a daily trading volume of merely USD 100 at this time, and that is probably quite sporadic. The Bitcointalk announcement for NANOX is very hard to follow, it almost looks like this was made as a joke, or the developer was in the depths of an ether binge. This makes it unsurprising that NANOX is practically worthless, but thanks to the extremely limited circulating supply, this coin is worth more per coin than Bitcoin. Since there is not even an entire coin available this is more of a mathematical technicality, and has no relevance to reality.
bitBTC (BITBTC)
The price of BitBTC is USD 3,915 as of this writing on 25 January 2018, extremely close to the actual price of Bitcoin, which is USD 3,650, but a little higher. BITBTC is actually just a Bitcoin analogue used on the BitShares decentralized exchange, with 44 BITBTC issued in total. The reason this crypto has a higher price than Bitcoin is because BitShares lacks liquidity versus the global market. Perhaps this crypto should not have made this list since it is a Bitcoin substitute, kind of like how a stablecoin is a substitute for a unit of fiat, but technically BITBTC is a distinct cryptocurrency.
To sum up, it is possible for cryptocurrencies to have a higher price per coin than Bitcoin, but this can only be achieved through having extremely limited coin supplies like with 42-coin and Project-X. 2 of the cryptos on this list, Bit20 and bitBTC, are an index fund and Bitcoin substitute for BitShares and probably should not be counted.
When it comes down to it, since Project-X is a near-dead shitcoin, 42-coin is the only legitimate cryptocurrency with a higher price per coin than Bitcoin. The USD 1 million market cap of 42-coin pales in comparison to Bitcoin’s USD 65 billion market cap however.
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