It Took Ethereum 30 Years Less Than Apple to Reach a $400B Market Cap
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Ethereum’s market cap has surpassed $400 Billion, a milestone that took significantly less than Apple.

On May 4th, 2021, Ethereum reached a market cap of $400 Billion, a new milestone for the network. This is a huge number in any regard, but is especially impressive when comparing it to other, well established tech companies.

To put this figure into context, Apple reached the same market cap threshold in 2012, a whole 36 years after it released its first product. In contrast, Ethereum has only existed for 6 years itself, meaning it matched Apple’s 2012 numbers 30 years faster.

Ethereum is Growing at a Rapid Speed

Of course, Apple and Ethereum are not rivals in any regard, but these numbers are still deeply significant as they show the speed at which ETH is growing, both as a cryptocurrency and a technological ecosystem. Apple’s climb to a $400 billion market cap was not exactly slow; rather Ethereum’s has been exceptionally fast.

The adoption of Ethereum has been immense. Reaching this number 30 years faster than Apple is no small feat—it’s a sign that Ethereum has successfully tapped into the needs and desires of the tech world—and beyond—at large.

Perhaps even more impressively, is that Ethereum has done all of this without ever becoming a household name. It has never had the same name-recognition as Bitcoin, and while it is far from being obscure, it is certainly hard to find people who know what Ethereum is if they are not already knowledgeable about the crypto space.

Ethereum achieved this while appealing explicitly to developers, programmers, and FinTech economists. It certainly has retail users and fans, but unlike Apple, these are not the people who are driving its numbers forward.


Apple and Ethereum are Wildly Different Companies

It goes without saying that Apple and Ethereum do not produce the same types of products, or try to solve the same problems. In fact, one major difference between these companies is that one creates a digital service, and the other creates both digital and physical products.

But this, again, is a testament to Ethereum’s growth, as it managed to create something so lucrative, multi-faceted, and worthy—all without producing any hardware. Apple is an immensely wealthy company, but it would never have been able to get this far if it wasn’t for both its software and hardware efforts. 

It also goes without saying that there are fundamental economic differences between these market caps. Most notably, Ethereum has actually created its own currency, whereas Apple has not, so there can be no truly direct comparison between the market cap of a currency and the market cap of a company. However, both are very much representational of the project’s financial standings in the world.

Open vs. Closed Source Technology

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two companies is not the types of products they make, but in the ideologies they hold. Apple is well-known for being a closed-source company. Everything Apple does is proprietary. The code behind Apple’s programs is hidden, the applications for its phones are restricted to its own app store, and only Apple’s personally chosen developers are able to work on its operating systems.

Apple even extends this mindset to its hardware—by creating its own ports, such as its lightning connectors and MagSafe charging cables. It then refuses to lease them to other companies. Apple is, by and large, a walled-garden.

This is in stark contrast to Ethereum. Taking an entirely opposite approach, Ethereum is about as open source as an entity can get. At its heart is the idea that anybody can both look at the code behind Ethereum, and also contribute to that code. It is an infrastructure designed to help other infrastructures flourish. Ethereum is an ever-growing and ever-changing ecosystem.

Ethereum is a Rejection of Closed Corporations

By treating itself as an open and approachable project, Ethereum acts as a direct enemy to the world of closed-computing, and the fact that it reached a $400 billion market cap 30 years faster than Apple represents a developer-wide rejection of such practices. Closed-source technology has allowed Apple to lock away knowledge and freedom so they can make more money off the consumer.

And yet, ironically, an organization that is so vehemently against these practices has managed to reach this milestone in record time. This may very-well be a sign that the tech world is evolving, and moving towards something more open and accessible to all.

Why do you think Ethereum has reached a $400 billion market cap in just six years? Let us know in the comments!

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