How to measure (compare) crypto Part 1: market cap

Market cap is a very important measure for comparing crypto. The reason is, that it balances out the price vs the coins in circulation.

But there are some reasons to take a closer look.

Take stable coins, e.g., their market cap just tells us how much token have been issued and not telling us if they are backed by fiat. Providers of stable coins unload as much token as the market swallows. In other words market cap of stable coins (as long as they pegged to their fiat counterpart) don't tell us anything about the token.

Another problem arises with so called CEX coins. Like BNB, OKB, CRO, i.e. coins that are managed by CEX as utility or other means for their own benefit. The tokenomics is totally controlled by the given CEX. With unloading or burning they can manipulate the price and market cap on their own will. IMO they are not even really crypto, because they just use some blockchain on their own servers controlled and administrated by themselves? How does that compare to BTC the mother of all blockchains and some other real projects. There is no decentralization, no independent, broadly interacting community. No real usage outside the CEX. No rules on tokenomics. These token also simply inflate their market cap, by indicating a unreasonable high number of token in circulation while at the same time they hold massive amounts in their own pockets. This helps them maintaining scarcity and low liquidity and increase their own valuation at the same time.

Meme coins also misuse the metric of market cap. Here, we see the number of minted coins as being in circulation. While many meme coins are distributed through air drops and other ways of initial distribution, initial holders start to drain the availability of coins to pump the market. Only later when they cash in the coins are offloaded to the market.