Bitcoin was trading above usd 50,000 in cryptocurrencies, despite the world's most popular and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization slipping 0.6 percent to USD 50,180. Bitcoin, which is known for its volatility, has lost more than USD 18,000 since hitting a high in early November, but it is still up more than 75 percent year-to-date. Meanwhile, Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency and the token tied to the Ethereum blockchain, was down over 1percent at USD 4,013. Dogecoin prices, on the other hand, fell more than 2percent to USD 0.18, while Shiba Inu prices fell 0.7 percent to USD 0.000038.

Over the previous 24 hours, several digital assets such as Solana, Polygon, Litecoin, Terra, XRP, Polkadot, and Stellar have also seen price drops. Cardona gained more than 3percent, while Uniswap gained more than 4 percent. According to CoinGecko, the global crypto market cap has dropped to USD 2.49 trillion.

As a record-breaking year for cryptocurrencies draws to a close, some of the smallest coins are experiencing a surge in popularity. As they gained traction, many alternative coins have had fantastic runs this year. This year, coins like Dogecoin, Cardano, and Shiba Inu, which were formerly relegated to the most speculative parts of the market, have become household names.

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