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November 2021: The $3 Trillion Peak, Taproot and the ENS Airdrop

The cycle top.

The peak

Total crypto market capitalization reached about $3 trillion around November 8–10, 2021. Bitcoin set an all-time high near $69,000 on November 10, and ETH peaked near $4,878 the same week, with bitcoin dominance near 40 percent.

Drivers

Inflation data, the October 2021 launch of the ProShares futures-based bitcoin ETF, the metaverse narrative after Facebook's rebrand to Meta, and record NFT volume on OpenSea all contributed. Perpetual futures open interest reached record levels, raising leverage.

The ENS airdrop

On November 8, 2021, the Ethereum Name Service distributed 25 percent of its 100 million ENS supply to holders of .eth names, with allocations based on registration length and an extra multiplier for primary names. ENS rose above $80 within days.

The constitution and delegation

Claimants had to sign the ENS constitution and choose delegates, a model that later influenced Optimism and Arbitrum. ENS also distributed to contributors and Discord members, about 25 percent of supply in all to early participants.

What followed

By June 2022 total market cap had fallen below $1 trillion as the Fed raised rates and the Terra collapse rippled through lenders. A buyer of $10,000 at the BTC peak would have seen it fall to under $2,300 by November 2022.

By the numbers

For November 2021, the reference figures are market cap peak of ~$3 trillion, btc ath of ~$69,000 (Nov 10, 2021), taproot of Block 709,632, ens airdrop of November 8, 2021. The comparison table below lines up asset, peak, approx. date — Total market cap: ~$3.0T / Nov 10, 2021; BTC: ~$69,000 / Nov 10, 2021; ETH: ~$4,878 / Nov 10, 2021; ENS: ~$85 / Nov 11, 2021.

Modeling November 2021 with the Historical Airdrop ATH Vs Current Calculator

The Historical Airdrop ATH Vs Current Calculator takes three inputs — Tokens received, ATH price ($), Current price ($). Missed value = tokens × (ATH − current). With its default inputs (Tokens received = 1000; ATH price ($) = 15; Current price ($) = 3) it returns 12,000 $; swap in the figures from November 2021 above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling November 2021 with the Crypto Dominance Shift Calculator

The Crypto Dominance Shift Calculator takes three inputs — Asset market cap ($B), Total crypto cap ($B), Asset growth (%). New dominance = grown cap ÷ (rest of market + grown cap). With its default inputs (Asset market cap ($B) = 1300; Total crypto cap ($B) = 2500; Asset growth (%) = 20) it returns 56.52 %; swap in the figures from November 2021 above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Data Table

For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and historical; crypto assets are volatile and you may lose capital. Do your own research.