By
Bena Ilyas
May 13th, 2024
The cryptocurrency market has regained over 100% from the March 12 flash crash leaving the stock markets far behind after they gained 36%. The majority of coins are in the green now.
On March 30, crypto prices surged significantly. The whole crypto market cap gained a staggering $35.3 billion in less than 24 hours as of 2.19 p.m. Singapore time, according to CoinMarketCap.com.
Bitcoin was leading the new surge reaching a price of over $9,400, or 19%, gain in the past 24 hours as of 2.03 p.m. Singapore time. At the moment of writing, it is trading at $8,789.56 (+7%). That surge took the flagship token to the highest level since March 7. Cryptos experienced two major bouts of selling in March in the wake of widespread drops in equity markets.
The industry participants attribute this recovery to two factors, the upcoming Bitcoin halving event and the central bank monetary policy. Many of the central banks globally have introduced huge stimulus packages that were meant to mitigate the economic fallout from the coronavirus health crisis.
Governments around the world have also signaled their willingness to do more to shield their economies. That has been a significant factor behind the recent surge in stock markets in the last several days. This effect has also filtered through to bitcoin and several other cryptos.
New Money Comes In
The head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno Vijay Ayyar said:
“I sense that overall markets are not reflecting the reality on the ground, though, but this is also the result of the Fed in the U.S. being extremely clear that they will do anything to make sure there is economic stability.”
Vijay was talking while referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve that pledged to maintain its benchmark interest rate near zero till the economy regains strength. He believes that the government will inject a lot of money into equities, and the money will also find its way into crypto. That will happen as new money continues being printed.
Bitcoin Halving Event
The halving event is expected to happen in about 12 days. On April 29, block 627,900 of Bitcoin was mined. Hence, it is now over 99% en route toward the nex thalving expected to happen on May 12.
It is a pre-programmed change in part of BTC’s underlying technology that is referred to as the blockchain. The BTC world works with ‘miners’ with high-powered computers that compete to solve difficult math problems to authenticate bitcoin transactions.
This eventually minimizes the bitcoin supply getting into the market. The halving takes place after four years, and this will be the third event. The past halving events have resulted in substantial price increases leading to new all-time highs. Matthew Dibb, the co-founder of Stack, said:
“While part of this rebound may be explained by a renewed ‘risk-on’ attitude of global investors, it is also clear that bulls have been triggered by the upcoming halving event and the anticipated appreciation in value in the wake of it.”
For people who are buying bitcoin currently, many have seen this as a chance to acquire bitcoins at low prices before the halving event.
Stock Market Now Suffers More Than Crypto
On March 30, Bitcoin surged above the $9,000 level registering a huge recovery that leaves the stock market in the dust of its wake. The flagship crypto broke past the $9,000 barrier at 3.30 am UTC.
This price recovery majorly outpaces the Dow Jones Industrial Average or Dow. The Dow is one of the mainstream market’s performance indicators.
Since BTC bottomed near $3,850 on March 13, the crypto has pumped more than 130% in price, according to TradingView.com chart data. During its previous high near the $24,750 levels, the Dow has risen by about 36% since its March 23 low near $18,210.
Altcoins: Crypto Market on the Rise
Bitcoin is leading in the crypto recovery gaining over 10% in 24 hours, resulting in an increase in its market dominance to 65.3%. The market charts show that Bitcoin SV has gained over 2,49% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum has gained around 1% in the last 24 hours taking its market cap to $23.33 billion at the time of writing.
The XRP price broke out of a descending resistance line on April 24. The line had been in place for 17 days. After it validated that line as a support, the price developed an upward trend that is continuing. The nearest resistance area is located at $0.23 that is strengthened by the presence of the 200-day moving average. At the moment, the crypto is trading at $0.218.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has followed an ascending support line since March 22. A month later, it bounced on the line for the last time before starting an upward move, which is still ongoing. Currently, the price is hovering around $254.15. If this trend continues, the nearest resistance area is located at $275.
The Litecoin (LTC) price has traded within an ascending channel since April 13. But, on April 29, this price broke out from that channel and adopted an upside trend. On April 30, the token is trading at $47.45 around the April 7 top. There is no bearish divergence in the RSI. If the upside trend continues, the crypto might surge towards $53.50 and even $60. But, in the case of a rejection, LTC may drop back to $40.
Analysts and commentators believe that the forthcoming halving event triggers the current volatility. However, it is still unclear whether Bitcoin will continue with its surge before the halving or post-halving.