Members of the crypto community looking for actionable data on pricing, project market capitalization, and other data on projects operating in the various niches within the crypto space have two primary sources of information. CoinMarketCap is the oldest of the two, having got its start in May 2013. In 2020, Binance Capital Management purchased the company and expanded its data offerings.
CoinGecko, launched in 2014, has done a better job of branding and has gained a lot of trust in the market.
While both of these data platforms have much to offer the crypto market, their core information product is near real-time cryptocurrency rankings. Both platforms rank cryptocurrencies based on market cap. However, I've noticed that they are not always in correlation with each other. There are times when one will rank a particular cryptocurrency above another and the rankings between the two platforms differ to some degree. I noticed this yesterday afternoon and decided to write this post to illustrate how the market cap rankings can differ between these two well-trusted data sources.
A Note On Methodology
The following comparison was made at 3:45 p.m. CST on Tuesday, February 14, 2024.
Since we're dealing with market capitalization, it would appear that the information featured on both of these trusted platforms would be identical, but one must remember that market cap is an ever-moving target. In some cases, the information is self-reported. In other cases, the platforms themselves are using blockchain data to retrieve the information. Then, they use their own algorithms to clean the data. Discrepancies can occur when each platform's data sources are queried at different times. Even queries a second or two apart can lead to discrepancies in the data. A discrepancy doesn't necessarily mean that one or both platforms is publishing incorrect data.
CoinMarketCap includes the following explanation on the way they collect data for their rankings:
Every minute, the various exchanges are queried for their most recent market data. All data is run through several data cleaning and verification algorithms to ensure data integrity.
While market players can take solace in knowing information is collected each minute from its various data sources, 60 seconds is a long duration when market-specific price data changes in less than a second. The process involved in collecting data and ensuring that data's integrity is something we can all appreciate, but it does take time. Many people enter and exit each crypto market every second, which means expecting accurate data at any given time is an impossible expectation.
CoinGecko has a lengthy explanation regarding its data collection methodology, but it also includes an "Important Disclaimer" in its website footer including the following sentence:
We make no warranties of any kind in relation to our content, including but not limited to accuracy and updatedness.
In other words, market data from these two well-respected data sources is provided for market participant benefit, but neither platform can guarantee 100 percent accuracy. And for that reason, it's not surprising that discrepancies can and will occur.
How CoinMarketCap & CoinGecko Differ in Crypto Market Cap Among the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies At a Specific Point In Time
Having checked both platforms at 3:45 p.m. CST on Tuesday, February 14, 2024, the following commentary details the several discrepancies in data between CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko at the specified time.
Naturally, the top three ranked cryptocurrencies on the two platforms were the same:
- Bitcoin (BTC) was first
- Ethereum (ETH) was second
- Tether (USDT) was third
These three cryptocurrencies have been ranked in that order for quite some time. With regard to BTC and ETH, they've been the top two ranked cryptocurrencies for years. So, it shouldn't be any surprise that they'd remain in their positions now and into the foreseeable future.
The first discrepancy in market position was the No. 4 position. CoinMarketCap listed Solana (SOL) as fourth in market cap while CoinGecko listed BNB. This morning, the two platforms agree that SOL should be ranked fourth.
Regarding the other cryptocurrency, both exchanges placed it at No. 5 in the rankings. In other words, BNB and SOL were both ranked No. 4 on one exchange and No. 5 on the other but ranked differently on each. They were flip-flopped.
That's an easy discrepancy to explain. Their market caps are so razor thin close that, at any moment, one exchange could drop one of them in position without batting an eye simply due to the timing of its data collection and algorithmic cleaning activities. If the two platforms undergo this exercise at two different times within the same minute, such discrepancies could happen often.
But I'd like to point out one other discrepancy that is a little more difficult to comprehend.
Both platforms ranked XRP and USDC in the same positions, at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. However, there is a huge discrepancy at rank No. 8. CoinMarketCap listed Cardano (ADA) while CoinGecko listed Lido Staked Ether (STETH) in that position. This was quite surprising to me because both listed STETH's market cap in the vicinity of $25 million. Since they agreed on market cap and the rankings are by market cap, how could CoinMarketCap push STETH down to No. 201 in the rankings?
That's the mystery.
As of this morning, STETH is still at No. 8 on CoinGecko with a market cap between that of USDC and ADA, but it's still at No. 201 on CoinMarketCap.
(**NOTE: **The above screenshot is from CoinMarketCap at 3:45 p.m. CST, February 13, 2024 while the below screenshot is from CoinGecko at 9:16 a.m. CST, February 14.)
This discrepancy pushes ADA to No. 9 in the rankings and Avalanche (AVAX) to No. 10 on CoinGecko while these two are at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, on CoinMarketCap. Dogecoin (DOGE) was ranked 10th at CoinMarketCap at the time of comparison.
Crypto Rankings 11-20 Compared on the Two Platforms
STETH mucked up a perfectly good ranking order on CoinMarketCap. The following cryptocurrencies are in the proper order on both platforms:
- ADA
- AVAX
- DOGE
- LINK (Chainlink)
- TRX (Tron)
- DOT (Polkadot)
- MATIC (Polygon)
The problem is, on CoinGecko they are all ranked one less than they are on CoinMarketCap—on account of STETH sticking its dirty nose in there. But we can't blame the cryptocurrency for doing what the market tells it to do. And we can't come down too hard on the data platforms for not listing the cryptocurrencies in the proper order, although I am scratching my head about STETH not appearing anywhere in the top 20 on CoinMarketCap. I've got to be honest, it does make me question whether it should remain my favorite source of information.
But now we've come to the place where winding roads diverge. MATIC is ranked No. 14 on CoinMarketCap while ranked No. 15 at CoinGecko. From there down, the order gets a good shuffle on both platforms.
CoinMarketCap lists TonCoin (TON) at No. 15 and Internet Computer (ICP) at No. 16. Shiba Inu (SHIB is listed No. 17 and Dai (DAI) is ranked No. 18. CoinGecko, however, throws another monkey wrench in by ranking Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) No. 16. The monkey wrench is that WBTC doesn't appear anywhere in the Top 30 on CoinMarketCap. Rather, it's hanging out in the neighborhood where STETH is be-bopping with a ranking of 203.
That's funny because the two platforms agree on WBTC's market cap. Well, within a hundred thousand dollars, at least.
As you can see, CoinGecko lists TON, ICP, and SHIB immediately after WBTC in positions No. 17, 18, and 19, respectively. Ranked No. 20 is Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which ranks No. 19 on CoinMarketCap. Litecoin is at No. 20 on CoinMarketCap but drops to No. 21 on CoinGecko. And where is DAI on CoinGecko? All the way down to No. 23.
If that's not all. It gets worse from there.
Nos. 21-30 in Crypto Rankings
Now we've seen two monkey wrenches toss our rankings between the two platforms into disarray. Like a disturbance caused by a rock in a pool of water, the first rock causes a smooth circle of waves rippling out from where the rock penetrates the water. But throw a second rock near the same vicinity and you can watch the ripples collide. Toss in a third and a fourth, before you know it, there is a mass of waves fighting for dominance in the pool.
At No. 21 in the CoinMarketCap rankings sits Immutable (IMX), looking as mutable as it could ever look. Remember, that was at 3:45 p.m. CST yesterday afternoon, the day before Kiss Your Lover Day.
CoinMarketCap lists the following five coins from NoS. 21 to 25 at that time:
- Uniswap (UNI)
- IMX
- Cosmos (ATOM)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Unus Sed Leo (LEO)
CoinGecko lists the following coins in the same rankings:
- LTC
- UNI
- DAI
- IMX
- ATOM
What happened? My best guess is STETH created a small ripple, then WBTC came along and disturbed the ripple with one of its own. By the time UNI and IMX hit the water, the pool was beginning to look like overlapping radio waves, ripples colliding like bumper cars.
The bottom five of the top 30 on CoinMarket Cap looks like this:
- Optimism (OP)
- Near Protocol (NEAR)
- Aptos (APT)
- Injective (INJ)
- Kaspa (KAS)
On CoinGecko:
- LEO
- ETC
- OP
- Bittensor (TAO)
- NEAR
Here's the screenshot:
Now we have more ripples in that pool. Where are APT, INJ, and KAS on CoinGecko, and where is TAO on CoinMarketCap?
CoinMarketCap has TAO hanging out with STETH and WBTC at No. 204 in the rankings. As for CoinGecko, here's where it has APT, INJ, and KAS ranked:
- APT = No. 32
- INJ = No. 36
- KAS = No. 34
So, it appears that CoinGecko may be a little more forgiving in its algorithmic cleanings than CoinMarketCap. Is there a bias at CoinMarketCap that causes it to send certain coins below the 200 rank? If so, what is it?
***Disclaimer: *This is not financial advice. All information is provided for entertainment and information purposes. Invest in crypto at your own risk.
For a look at the historical rankings of the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies By Market Cap, subscribe to Diamonds and Pearls, a subscription e-book available only through Paragraph.
All images are screenshots with the exception of the water image, which was acquired from Pexels.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
