Cryptocurrency market capitalization was little changed at the end of trading on Wednesday, remaining close to $1.59 trillion (-0.14% d/d). However, this modest result is a sign of strength given the pressure in the equity markets, which intensified the sell-off in bitcoin and ether.
Meanwhile, altcoins got their chance to catch up with the leaders. For example, XRP gained 2% in 24 hours and Cardano gained 4%.
XRP has been in an uptrend since mid-October. An attempt to accelerate growth last month failed, but it also failed to break this line in early December. In addition to the trendline, the 50-day moving average, which stops the sell-off for the last 50 days, also proved to be on the side of the buyers.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of BTC addresses holding the cryptocurrency has increased by 20 percent to more than 50 million, Santiment noted. BTC‘s growth is being fueled by a drop in supply on exchanges to a six-year low.
Bitcoin has entered the acceleration phase of the bull market, but the situation remains largely in its early stages, Glassnode noted. BTC’s 142% YTD growth is consistent with the 2015-2017 and 2018-2022 cycles. Most bitcoin investors have entered the positive side, with several on-chain indicators moving into enthusiastic territory in an uptrend.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, called bitcoin a great alternative to the US dollar and other fiat currencies. According to him, BTC can be an antidote to inflation.
The US SEC has asked the court to clarify whether the crypto assets sold by Terraform Labs are unregistered securities. The regulator strongly believes that these cryptocurrencies meet the criteria of securities.
With traditional finance out of reach, cryptocurrencies act as an alternative, especially in emerging markets and among younger populations, the ECB study said.
Dogecoin (DOGE), the most successful meme cryptocurrency, is ten years old. It was created by programmer Billy Marcus and engineer Jackson Palmer as a parody of bitcoin. DOGE has jumped 16% this week, hitting highs over $0.106 in the past year.
