Altcoins Surge as Ethereum Attempts a Big Breakout
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| By Marija Matic |
The crypto market is bullish.
I have no doubt about that. And not just in anticipation of the halving and spot ETF approval. The fundamentals and usage are improving.
To start with, the hashrate — the computational power securing the Bitcoin network — and the number of active wallets is growing.
And in Q3 of 2023, Bitcoin (BTC, “A-”) settled more than 40 million transactions, for the first time since its inception, according to Hashdex data.
The creative uses of the network — driven in part by interest in Inscriptions and BRC-20 tokens — further indicate a promising future for the oldest blockchain in the market.
All this combined is influencing a growing positive sentiment that is reflected in the price.
As I mentioned last week that with Bitcoin poised to break out from the bullish pennant, the possibilities were clear: it would either revisit support levels before surging higher … or make a direct push toward testing resistance at $36,000.
In the end, Bitcoin chose the latter path and made a direct ascent toward $36,000. However, it faced rejection at this key resistance point, as can be seen on the chart:
The current trading pattern shows Bitcoin maintaining a series of higher lows, reflecting its positive resilience, before the next move.
Today's crypto performance has contributed to a 1% uptick in the total crypto market capitalization, which now stands at $1.38 trillion.
This marks the highest valuation for the cryptocurrency market since May 2022!
Simultaneously, there was a noteworthy spike in institutional interest in digital asset investment products last week, further extending a six-week streak of consecutive inflows.
This cumulative total now stands at $767 million, surpassing the entirety of the $736 million inflow recorded throughout 2022.
Bullish indeed!
Altcoins Surge
But it’s not just Bitcoin reaping the benefits of bullish sentiment. Altcoins are also grabbing attention and seeing promising price action.
Asian coins, such as Neo (NEO, “C”), have spearheaded an impressive rally over the past week. Indeed, both Asian and DeFi coins have sustained their momentum, extending the rally into today's trading session.
Alongside them, several top-100 cryptocurrencies have marked significant gains in the past seven days, including …
- THORChain (RUNE, “B-”), with an astounding 30% surge, RUNE’s price climbed an astonishing 358% since its bottom in June, as the activity on the network continues to grow together with the number of users.
- Near (NEAR, “D”), which climbed by 25%,
- And Uniswap (UNI, “B-”), which is boasting a 20% increase.
But one alt that stands out as a success story is Solana (SOL, “C”), which my colleague Alex Benfield and I covered last week.
Its remarkable rise was helped by a series of significant announcements unveiled during Solana's Breakpoint conference, which concluded last week.
Notably, these announcements encompassed new technological advancements and placed emphasis on crucial network health metrics, including a robust validator count of approximately 2,000 and a network of around 900 nodes featuring diverse geographical representation and a minimal carbon footprint.
While these contribute to enhanced decentralization, Solana recognizes the need for further technical enhancements. An encouraging development is the imminent expansion in the number of client implementations, which will lay the foundation for a more resilient future, free from single points of failure.
While the world of alts is exciting right now, pricewise, all eyes are on Ethereum (ETH, “B”) as it stands on the precipice of potentially breaking above resistance of its seven-month old trendline:
Will an ETH succeed … or will we see nothing more than a fake out? For that answer, we still have to wait.
But with all the bullish sentiment in the market, it’s hard not to consider the potential for ETH to successfully move past resistance. If it can, ETH could easily catapult to $2,400!
Notable News, Notes & Tweets
- Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all seven criminal fraud counts, sentencing set for March 28, 2024.
- FTX wants to sell $744 million worth of Grayscale, Bitwise assets.
- Celsius Proof Group is in running to relaunch FTX, sources say.
What’s Next
The bear market was brutal. So brutal that crypto bankruptcies made lawyers and bankers into roughly $770 million winners, according to the Wall Street Journal.
But the tide is shifting fast.
As the competition for a BTC spot ETF intensifies, institutional interest in the crypto market is on the serious rise.
Concurrently, former retail investors are rejoining the market, and new entrants are expected to follow, even at elevated price levels, as is customary.
Furthermore, geopolitical tensions seem to be benefiting crypto, as there was no correlation to the Nasdaq or the S&P 500 lately, but there was high correlation to gold.
This shift in correlation from traditional financial markets to gold indicates that cryptocurrencies are increasingly seen as a hedge against geopolitical uncertainties.
All these factors are not just confirming crypto’s current strength, but continued importance. And since the best profit opportunities go to the early investors, I’m glad you’re here with us at the start of this next bull market.
Best,
Marija
