Cryptocurrencies experienced a rally on Thursday, reversing a brief downturn that followed Bitcoin’s unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the $70,000 mark early Monday morning.
The CoinDesk 20 index, which tracks the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (excluding stablecoins and exchange tokens), rose over 2.7% in the past 24 hours. Uniswap (UNI) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) led the gains, each recording increases of more than 5%.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at $68,100, reflecting a 2.9% gain over the past day. Meanwhile, Ether (ETH) continued to lag behind both Bitcoin and the overall market, with only a 1.1% increase, resulting in a new 3.5-year low compared to Bitcoin’s price. Solana (SOL), however, outperformed the market with a 3.0% increase, achieving a record high against Ether.
Currently priced just above $2,500, Ether remains below the maximum pain price of $2,600 for Deribit’s options expiry on October 25, a level where most options would expire worthless.
Ether’s Ongoing Struggles
Ether’s underperformance is evident when compared to Bitcoin and Solana. Over the past month, Ether has declined by 2.1%, while Bitcoin has surged 7.4% and Solana has gained 18%.
Andre Dragosch, European Head of Research at crypto investment firm Bitwise, commented on the disparity, noting that both Bitcoin and Solana have demonstrated stronger on-chain activity than Ethereum. “Transaction counts on Bitcoin have outpaced those of Ethereum, which typically correlates with relative performance,” he explained. Dragosch emphasized that the recent outperformance of Bitcoin reflects its strength rather than a weakness in Ether.
The market capitalization gap between Bitcoin and Ether has reached a historic high, with Bitcoin’s market cap now at $1.33 trillion compared to Ether’s $303.6 billion, creating a difference of over $1 trillion for the first time.
Solana’s market cap dominance stands at 3.64% of the overall crypto market, approaching its previous record of 3.70%.
Gains in Crypto Stocks Led by MicroStrategy
In related developments, MicroStrategy (MSTR) saw a 10% increase on Thursday, marking its highest valuation since the dot-com bubble 25 years ago. The company is noted for its unique strategy of converting its entire balance sheet into Bitcoin, a revolutionary asset according to capital advisor Punter Jeff. He remarked, “MicroStrategy positions itself as a pioneer in corporate finance, holding over 2.25 times more Bitcoin than all other publicly traded companies combined.”
Other notable gainers included Coinbase (COIN), which added 5%, and bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (RIOT), which rose by 4.3%.
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