Bitcoin has registered a 4.1 percent growth in the past 24 hours to trade at $3.775 at press time. The surge comes after a rather slow and uneventful week. In the past week, bitcoin’s price was unable to break away from the $3,660 level achieved on February 8. However, since hitting a yearly low at $3,393 just eight days ago, the currency has regained 11.5 percent.
The other currencies registered varied gains, with three of the top ten cryptos noting double-digit gains. Ethereum was the biggest gainer in the top 25 cryptos. The currency registered a 15 percent increase in the past 24 hours to trade at $145. EOS registered an 11 percent rise to hold its position as the fourth-most valuable crypto ahead of the pursuing Litecoin which gained 7 percent.
Bitcoin registered the highest 24-hour volume this year. In the past 24 hours, the volume stood at $8.2 billion. The last time the volume hit $8 billion was on December 22. Back then, the high transaction volume pushed bitcoin’s price to $4,102. The currency gained 25 percent in the space of a week, raking in $850 supported by the high volume.
Indeed, the high volume is a very bullish sign for any crypto trader. On February 8, the price gained $250 to shot to $3,650, up from $3,400. Back then, the 24-hour volume also spiked to stand at $7.9 billion.
What Turned The Tides?
Bitcoin’s rise comes at the back of some very positive news globally that seems to be swaying the momentum. For one, reports suggest that Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten could support crypto payments starting March. The firm announced that it will release an updated mobile payment application which will probably accept crypto payments. The company has yet to clarify its position yet.
JP Morgan also recently announced that it would launch its JPM Coin for its wholesale payments division. The currency is an exact opposite of the decentralized cryptos such as bitcoin and Ethereum. For this, it has come under severe attack by crypto enthusiasts.
However, there’s no denying the positive sentiment that the announcement brought about. Being the biggest bank in the U.S, JP Morgan has a lot of influence on the financial services industry. By announcing the JPM Coin, the New York-based giant showed the world that it has taken a pro-crypto stance. And while it may never end up using decentralized cryptos such as bitcoin, the market seemed to respond positively.
The rest of the market registered gains, with stablecoins TrueUSD and Paxos Standard being the only cryptos in the red. XRP gained 4 percent to trade at $0.313, with Cardano gaining 7.5 percent. Bitcoin Gold was one of the highest gainers, registering a 24 percent gain to become the 26th most valuable crypto.
However, it’s Ethereum that’s the most impressive. The currency is now trading at its highest since January 10 when its price stood at $151. Since hitting a yearly low of $103 on February 6, the currency has bounced back and seems set to continue rising. And while the gap between Ethereum and XRP was less than $200 million a few weeks ago, Ethereum has continued to consolidate its position as the king of altcoins. Currently, the gap stands at $3.1 billion and is getting bigger by the minute.
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