Bitcoin Price Soars Toward $4,000 During $15 Billion Market Rally
The crypto markets continued to recover on Monday, climbing as much as $15 billion to cross the $130 billion threshold. The bitcoin price headlined the advance with an 8% leap across the $3,800 barrier, while the ethereum price surged more than 15%. Ultimately an astonishing 97 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies experienced positive movement for the day.
This renewed confidence among traders likely stems from the emergence of Japan as a major player in the global crypto markets. As CCN.com has reported, many major Chinese traders have already moved to Japanese exchanges, even though OKCoin and Huobi will continue to operate until the end of October. It is becoming clear that if China’s bitcoin exchange ban is permanent, it will be China who suffers–not bitcoin.
After beginning the day just under $120 billion, the crypto market cap steadily climbed leading into Monday morning. It briefly crossed $135 billion, although it has since experienced a slight taper. At present, the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies is about $133 billion.
Bitcoin Price Soars Past $3,800
Some industry observers expected that the bitcoin price would level out at our below the $3,000 threshold, at least in the short term. However, bitcoin is defying those predictions, as Monday’s 8% bump demonstrates. After beginning the day close to $3,500, the bitcoin price has surged about $300, raising it to a present value of $3,812. BTC/USD is trading above $3,900 on Bitfinex, GDAX, and Bitstamp, and the global average bitcoin price is now less than $200 away from the psychologically-significant $4,000 mark. Altogether, this translates into a market cap of $63.2 billion.
Another positive development is the continued rise of over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading. Last week, LocalBitcoins–a platform that connects individuals looking to buy and sell bitcoin for fiat currency–set a 7-day record of about $72 million. Much of this increase came from Chinese residents who are no longer able to make CNY deposits on local order-book exchanges.
Ethereum Price Climbs to $275
The ethereum price climbed 16% on Monday, giving it the best 24-hour performance among coins in the top 5. This rally–which comes as ethereum prepares to begin deploying its Metropolis protocol upgrade–raised the ethereum price to $278. Ethereum now has a market cap of $26.3 billion.
Altcoins Join the Advance
The early-week rally reverberated throughout the altcoin markets, enabling 97 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies to post single-day advances.
After beginning the day near $400, the bitcoin cash price surged 13% to $453, raising its market cap above $7.5 billion.
The Ripple posted a 6% gain, while the litecoin price edged past $50 following its 8% bump. Dash and NEM both posted double-digit advances, climbing 12% and 13%, respectively. This raised NEM’s market cap back across the $2 billion mark. The IOTA price surged by 22%, giving it the best return of any top 10 cryptocurrency; IOTA is now trading at $0.576. The Monero price climbed 6%, but this was not enough to push XMR over the $100 barrier. OmiseGO rounded out the top 10 with a 14% climb, which was sufficient to hold off challenges from NEO and ethereum classic.
