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First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Rises Amid Light Weekend Trading

Yet, bitcoin’s market dominance has been dropping as interest in altcoins soars; transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain have been rising.

Updated May 11, 2023, 4:26 p.m. Published Nov 7, 2021, 11:30 p.m.
Altcoins Overtaking Bitcoin's Dominance in Trading Volume?
Altcoins Overtaking Bitcoin's Dominance in Trading Volume?

Good morning, Here’s what’s happening:

  • Market Moves: Bitcoin rose over the past 24 hours, and the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization experienced low volatility.
  • Technician’s Take: Bitcoin is holding support at $60K, and slowing momentum suggests a period of consolidation.
  • Watch CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis.

Bitcoin (BTC): $62,877.06

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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Ether (ETH): 4,601.22

Market moves

Bitcoin continued to hover comfortably above $60,000. At the time of publication, it was $62,877.06, up 2.4% in the past 24 hours. The No. 1 cryptocurrency by market capitalization experienced low volatility over the weekend, as bitcoin’s trading volume was thin across centralized exchanges tracked by CoinDesk.

Bitcoin trading volume (CoinDesk)

Ether, the second highest cryptocurrency, also rose over the past 24 hours. However, the transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain are soaring. Data from BitInfoCharts shows that the average transaction fee on Ethereum was $41.50 on Saturday, nearly triple from three months ago. A few notable winners outside bitcoin in the past 24 hours were , and . Among the biggest losers were solana and . At the time of publication the price of 15 of the top 20 cryptocurrencies as listed by CoinDesk had gained.

The market’s main narrative has shifted to altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies) as bitcoin’s market dominance continues to drop. Entering the week, tokens associated with layer 1 blockchains, including and solana, continue to grab the market’s attention as ether’s transaction fees surge.

Technician’s take

Bitcoin Faces Resistance Near $64K, Support Between $55K-$60K

Bitcoin daily price chart (CoinDesk, TradingView)

Bitcoin continues to trade in a tight range, although buyers appear to be holding support above $60,000. Short-term indicators are neutral, although pullbacks could be limited given a series of price breakouts over the past month.

If buyers fail to hold $60,000, lower support around the 50-day moving average, currently near $55,000, could stabilize a pullback.

After remaining flat on Friday, bitcoin rose to nearly $63,000 at the time of publication of First Mover Asia, rising almost 4% over the weekend.

For now, upside momentum is slowing, which suggests a period of consolidation could persist in the short term. Eventually, indicators suggest momentum could improve to support a breakout in BTC above $65,000 based on positive historical returns in the fourth quarter.

Important events

Be on the lookout for the following today:

  • 1:00 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore (5:00 a.m. UTC): Japan Leading Economic Index (September)
  • 5:30 p.m. Hong Kong/Singapore (9:30 a.m. UTC): Sentix Investor Confidence (Eurozone)

On CoinDesk TV

In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of “First Mover” on CoinDesk TV:

Circle CEO and Founder Jeremy Allaire on White House Stablecoin Report

“First Mover” hosts spoke with stablecoin USDC issuer Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire as the company faces increasing scrutiny from regulators amid the Biden Administration’s stablecoin report. Voyager Digital CEO Steve Ehrlich shared insights into the multi-year partnership signed with Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks. Plus, Blockchain Research Institute Co-founder and Executive Chairman Don Tapscott shared his take on big tech diving into the metaverse.

Latest headlines

House Sends Infrastructure Bill With Crypto Tax Provision to US President

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Could Break Out and Rise With Altcoins Next Week

Kazakhstan Passes Law to Monitor Crypto Services for Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing

Enter the Margaritaverse: My Week at NFT.NYC

What Bitcoin and Ether’s Options Tell Us About Their Maturity




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Altcoins outpace bitcoin as precious metals' historic rally keeps macro focus sharp

Hands rest on the keyboard of a laptop showing trading graphs, data. (Kanchanara / Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)

Altcoins posted broader gains in quiet Sunday trading as bitcoin held a tight range near $88K and analysts weighed crypto against the surge in precious metals.

What to know:

  • XRP, dogecoin and solana outperformed bitcoin and ether over the past 24 hours in thin weekend trading.
  • Analysts said bitcoin remains range-bound between roughly $86,500 and $90,000.
  • Glassnode flagged spot price sitting near one on-chain mean while remaining well below short-term holders’ cost basis.