Cryptocurrency prices rose across the board yesterday, with the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization rising more than 6% to $2.22 trillion. Bitcoin led the rally, breaking year-long trading resistance near $57,000.
Meanwhile, altcoins from Ethereum to meme token PEPE followed BTC’s momentum. This surge appears to have been fueled by a bullish technical setup as well as strengthening cryptocurrency fundamentals.
TLDR
- The total cryptocurrency market capitalization (TOTALCAP) broke the resistance line at $2.15 trillion, suggesting further upside.
- Bitcoin price is approaching the $60,000 resistance level, the final barrier before setting a new all-time high.
- Meme token PEPE broke out of its 290-day bearish resistance trend line and rose 35%, signaling renewed interest.
- Ethereum network upgrades, increased institutional investment, and optimistic sentiment are driving the cryptocurrency market rally.
- Bitcoin mining stocks such as Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms are up 17-22% as BTC price rebounds above $53,000.
According to the analysis, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization (TOTALCAP) reached $2.15 trillion on the weekly chart, clearly exceeding the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level. This resistance area has capped several rally attempts since last November.
The bulls are now open to the next target of $2.4 trillion, about 16% higher. This move comes along with a trend of rising weekly closes over the past month.
Nonetheless, TOTALCAP remains 35% below its all-time high of nearly $3 trillion last November. So analysts say the cryptocurrency still has a lot of room to run before it reaches last year’s euphoric peak. Capital inflows of $598 million last week, coupled with continued adoption by retailers and institutions, provided a tailwind.
Bitcoin rose more than 11% to its 2024 high of about $57,000. BTC then began trading near $56,400 but consolidated towards higher support levels, putting it up 32% so far in February. The largest cryptocurrency is currently approaching $60,000, the last remaining horizontal resistance before the rally could potentially target a new all-time high above $69,000 this year.
The altcoin scene has also flashed green, led by Ethereum preparing a major network upgrade called Shanghai in March that promises to improve scalability and reduce transaction fees.
These expectations drove the price of ETH up nearly 9%, while layer 1 blockchain NEAR rose more than 21%.
But the most notable breakthrough came from meme coin Pepe (PEPE), which surged 35% in one day. PEPE broke out of a descending trend line that had held prices in check for 290 days until the meme craze finally overwhelmed the bears.
Bitcoin miners were among the biggest beneficiaries as BTC surged past $53,000, sparking speculation that the cryptocurrency bull market could begin again. Miners generate more revenue and profits as the price of Bitcoin rises.
Marathon Digital and Riot Platform were each up more than 17% at Monday’s close, with their stock prices highly correlated with Bitcoin movements.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is up nearly 17% to start the trading week as investors expect trading volumes to continue to rise if the new risk appetite persists.
The convergence of positive technical and fundamental drivers demonstrates the fundamental strength of the cryptocurrency market. Now, participants debate whether the cryptocurrency can maintain this new bullish bias as optimism returns.