Bitcoin flippens Russian ruble after Tesla purchase

The crypto asset's market capitalization has also overtaken Tesla's again, following an overnight price surge.

After hitting a new all-time high of more than $48,000 earlier today, the market capitalization of Bitcoin has surpassed the total market cap of the Russian ruble. 

According to data from AssetDash, Bitcoin’s market cap is $871 billion at the time of publication. This exceeds the money supply of the Russian ruble, which as of January was estimated to be 58.6 trillion RUB, currently valued at roughly $791.1 billion. The crypto asset has also overtaken Tesla Motors in market capitalization after a brief retreat yesterday — the car manufacturer’s market cap is $813 billion at the time of publication, having fallen 1.8% in the last 24 hours.

The price rise that led to Bitcoin flipping the ruble in value followed news that Tesla had purchased an aggregate of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, to be held as an investment and store of value for its excess cash. The price of BTC subsequently surged to a new all-time high of $48,200. Though it has since fallen under $47,000, the market cap of the crypto asset remains higher than that of Tesla and Facebook, and is gaining on Chinese multinational tech conglomerate Tencent, currently valued at $911 billion.

Bitcoin’s market cap was already worth more than the total value of many fiat currencies around the world, including the Mexican peso at roughly $731 billion. Though Bitcoin (BTC) remains the top rated asset on CoinMarketCap, the analytics website is currently listing the Tesla Model 3 above the coin in the "0" position, with the vehicle retailing at $37,990 in the U.S.