Ultimately, much like the current market cap of cryptocurrencies, the "market cap" of tulips was probably grossly overexaggerated by ignoring the effects of the order book vs. peak price:

https://steemit.com/taxes/@lexiconical/valuing-steem-rewards-as-taxable-income-is-a-vast-overstatement-of-tax-liability-part-2-the-thin-order-book-and-flash-crashes