Crypto enthusiasts and traders are certainly having a field day judging from the splash of green across Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and a majority of major altcoins at present. It seems almost too good to be true, as we seem poised to head into another week of what has now become a continued, extended bull run for the top two leading digital assets in the market.
As reported previously, Bitcoin first crossed the $40,000 mark on Friday and currently trades at $40,700 at the time of writing. It is up almost 25% this week and on January 9, trading volume for Bitcoin breached a staggering $99 billion level for the first time, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ethereum, on the other hand, has gained almost 70% the past week and is only $100 away from clearing the $1,400 level, where it recorded its previous historical high.
Other altcoins are not content to play second fiddle to Ether, and coins such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Stellar (XLM) and Cardano (ADA) are seeing impressive runs over this weekend at weekly gains of 60%, 82%, 149% and 88% respectively. Even beleaguered Ripple Inc.’s token XRP is up by 45% this week, as it continues to sustain a price level above $0.30 where it had been stuck at the $0.20-0.22 range since news of its lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was confirmed.
At least for the time being, it seems that altcoin season is indeed upon us.
For weeks, analysts have been foreshadowing a significant drop, but Bitcoin has remained resilient thus far, with no telltale signs of its extraordinary bull run ending anytime soon. This is a phenomenon that no one has seen before, and predictions on the price movement have run amok since BTC crossed the $30,000 line as there is certainly no set precedent for the way the market is performing right now. If traders are filling a slight pinch of uneasiness, they are not alone.
Bank of America’s chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett warned his investors that Bitcoin represents the “mother of all bubbles” and only time will tell when this bubble will burst.
