Major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), fueled market cap growth of $270 billion last week. An 11.3% increase brought the sector’s market capitalization to $2.64 trillion. This commendable growth was also driven by significant contributions from Worldcoin (WLD).
BTC hits new ATH
The upward trend in the cryptocurrency market has taken off this week, allowing several assets to reach new heights. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has not been left out of this trend as the token price has risen significantly due to increased demand in the spot Bitcoin ETF market.
Data from K33 Research shows continued inflows recorded by spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw inflows of over 300,000 BTC, or $17 billion worth, as of March 4. The product saw inflows of $562 million on Monday. These inflows demonstrated huge demand from existing investors seeking BTC exposure.
This continued demand caused BTC to rebound more than 8.5% on March 4, hitting a high of $68,529. Despite resistance at $68,529, Bitcoin attempted to hold above the $68,000 level and use it as a springboard to push higher the next day.
The asset eventually breached its previous ATH on March 5, hitting a new record high of $69,098. However, resistance located in this price range triggered a massive retracement that saw BTC collapse below $60,000 for the first time since February.
BTC recovered from this correction and continued to claw back lost gains, eventually crossing the important psychological threshold of $70,000 and setting a new ATH. The token has seen a slight correction at this level but is currently hovering above $69,000 and has changed hands at $69,461 at the time of reporting.
Amid a cyclical rise, Bitcoin surged 10% this week, adding $130 billion to its market capitalization. As the asset continues to exceed expectations, there have been several bullish price forecasts this week, including Bitget Managing Director Gracy Chen predicting a rise to $200,000.
Ethereum breaches $4,000.
As the spot ETH ETF discussion picks up steam, QCP Capital analysts have looked into the possibility of Ethereum outperforming BTC in a bull market. ETH closed above $3,800 on March 6, rising 7.46% as gains increased.
March 8 also saw a series of price gains as Ethereum recorded its third consecutive day of gains. The cryptocurrency asset topped $4,000 on March 8 for the first time since December 2021 before being rejected.
ETH remains tempted, with levels currently trading at $3,956.
WLD Achieves New ATH Above $11
Although the Worldcoin project suffered several regulatory setbacks this week, its token WLD posted gains this week, surging more than 24%. However, the start of the week for WLD was marked by a decline in price, falling 6.86% to $7.36 on March 4th.
The collapse comes as South Korea’s Personal Information Commissioner’s Office reported a potential investigation into Worldcoin’s operations. WLD suffered a sharp 12% decline on March 5 amidst unique bearish sentiment and a broad cryptocurrency market retracement.
However, WLD recovered its losses the next day, March 5, despite Spain’s ban on the project. The token had risen 13% on March 6 and then consolidated until reports of OpenAI’s new board members made headlines.
In particular, the company announced the appointment of new board members late on March 8, announcing that CEO Sam Altman had joined the board. Following this report, WLD surged 42% on March 9 to hit an all-time high above $11. The asset ended the day up an impressive 55%.
Despite facing a major correction today, WLD is still trading above its previous highs and is trading at $9.78 even amid a 16% slump today. Worldcoin is also up 33% this month, outperforming BTC, ETH, and Solana (SOL).