The cryptocurrency market cap achieved a new all-time high on Thursday, briefly rising above $770 billion amidst a widespread altcoin rally. The ethereum price rode this wave across the $1,000 threshold, while the ripple price appears determined to extend what has been a remarkable rally. After entering the day at $683 billion, the cryptocurrency market cap climbed as high as $772 billion — an intraday increase of 13 percent. Following a Thursday morning dip, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies is now $753 billion. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin Price Dips Below $15,000The rally was accomplished without the help of bitcoin, which posted a daily decline of approximately one percent. This forced the bitcoin price below $15,000, a mark to which it had recovered on Tuesday following a report that a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm had made a major bet on bitcoin. At the time of writing, the bitcoin price was trading at $14,445 on Bitfinex — about $400 below its global average — reducing bitcoin’s market cap to $249.6 billion.24-Hour Bitcoin Price ChartThe day’s movements also reduced bitcoin’s market share — often called the bitcoin dominance index — to another all-time low. At present, bitcoin accounts for just 33.1 percent of the cryptocurrency market cap, while altcoins comprise the other 66.9 percent. Ethereum Price Cracks $1,000 While Ripple Adds 33 PercentThe ethereum price made an impressive advance on Thursday, but ripple continued to consolidate its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency. Ethereum, long the second-most valuable cryptocurrency but recently forced into third, rose by 11 percent, bringing the ethereum price to a present value of $937 on Bitfinex. Thanks to Korean premiums, the global ethereum price rose to an all-time high of $1,045 as ETH briefly became the third cryptocurrency to achieve a market cap of $100 billion.24-Hour Ethereum Price ChartAs impressive as this rally was, however, ethereum actually lost ground against second-ranked ripple, which exploded by another 33 percent to raise its price to $3.16 on Bittrex and $3.63 overall. Ripple now has a market cap of $140.6 billion, which is 56 percent as large as that of bitcoin.24-Hour Ripple Price ChartAltcoins Peak at $520 BillionUnsurprisingly, the ripple and ethereum rallies lifted the altcoin market cap to a high-water mark. The combined value of altcoins peaked at $520 billion this morning — a mark it achieved just two days after reaching $400 billion for the first time. Source: CoinMarketCapThough led by ripple and ethereum, the altcoin advance was spurred by strong showings from a number of other altcoins, even though several large cryptocurrencies posted single-day declines. Source: CoinMarketCapThe bitcoin cash price was one of those outliers, plunging 13 percent to $2,388. Cardano, on the other hand, leaped by 27 percent to raise its market cap to $32 billion. NEM and stellar also posted double-digit increases, rising 52 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Litecoin and IOTA, meanwhile, each declined for the second consecutive day, falling seven percent and four percent. The day’s most impressive performance came from TRON, a token that is likely unfamiliar to many investors. Marketed as a decentralized content distribution platform, the TRON price rose by 107 percent on Thursday, raising its market cap to $10.4 billion and storming into the 10th spot in the market cap rankings, supplanting dash, which has been a top-10 stalwart for years. Write to Josiah Wilmoth at josiah.wilmoth(at)ccn.com. Featured image from Shutterstock