The cryptocurrency market is on a full-scale bullish track. The total market cap has reached a milestone of $909 billion before retracing back to the current figures of $865 billion.
This coincided with Bitcoin blasting past $34,000 which, in turn, propelled the altcoin market to enter the bullish weekend bender. According to data compiled by CoinMarketCap, the market cap had previously touched close to $840 billion during the parabolic surge back in 2017-2018.
With this, the crypto market is a little over 10% away from hitting a whopping $1 trillion market cap. This called on for a cheeky comment by Erik Voorhees, CEO of Shapeshift, who went on to state that the latest figure for the total market cap was “roughly 1/7th of The Fed’s balance sheet”.
Ethereum Trails Behind Bitcoin’s uptrend
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency out there. It is not just the largest by adoption, and market capitalization, but also most importantly, by hash rate. And while the crypto-asset is undoubtedly responsible for this rise, the altcoins have also caught up to the bullish affair. One of the most prominent coins that have aided the cumulative market capitalization to a new high was Ethereum. The world’s largest altcoin crossed $1,150.
The last time Ethereum hit a four-figures on the dollar was nearly three years back in February of 2018.
The Impact?
Bitcoin’s strong momentum can eventually bring in the much-talked-about alt season in the coming days. Most often than not, altcoins prepare for a substantial surge when Bitcoin consolidates after a big rally, something that was observed since Christmas which has extended to 2021. This essentially happens because it is when Bitcoin stabilizes, that market participants and investors often look to take more risk-on plays in the crypto market.
Historically, when Bitcoin consolidates, the altcoin market was found to be witnessing a significant rise in volume.
A well-known trader at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange Michaël van de Poppe noted that the probability of a temporary Bitcoin establishing a local top is increasing. And if the prediction does hold true, chances of that triggering a massive rally for the altcoin part is likely to materialize.
“The likelihood of a temporary top is becoming significant at this point. Bitcoin dropping down intraday after reaching the second target, while #Ethereum is bouncing upwards heavily in the $BTC pair. That’s great news for altcoins in general.”
