The original post: /r/cryptocurrency by /u/bitcoin_islander on 2024-09-07 13:47:54.

This misconception is repeated in the crypto subs almost daily.

Market cap DOES NOT equal total money invested.

Marketcap = (# of coins in circulation) x ($ price per coin)

Price is whatever someone is willing to pay. Therefore marketcap is an imaginary number. Its not a real number of how many dollars are invested into a coin. It can be $1 or a quadrillion. Stop using this metric to justify things to yourself about a coin you like or dont like.

Example:

You have a tree, it can only make 100 apples. Someone buys 1 apple from you for $1 and just like that suddenly the marketcap of all apples your tree made is $100. Did someone give you this $100? No. Marketcap is an imaginary metric, not the number of dollars someone handed you.