Altcoins Surge as Bitcoin Consolidates
Altcoins stole the show in trading on Friday as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price continued to consolidate near the $30,000 support level. This prompted many crypto traders to rotate into altcoins, which have historically seen price gains after a notable move in BTC.
Stocks End First Half of 2023 on a Positive Note
Stocks also rallied to close out the first half of 2023 on a positive note. Boosted by the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index data, the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq were all in the green, up 1.23%, 0.84%, and 1.45%, respectively. The PCE Index, which is the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge, fell to its lowest level in two years.
Bitcoin’s Price Movement
Bitcoin climbed higher in the early trading hours, reaching a daily high of $31,290. However, a sell-off occurred after reports emerged that the SEC deemed recent spot BTC ETF applications ‘inadequate.’ This dropped the top crypto to a daily low of $29,620. BTC has since climbed back above $30,400.
Bullish Outlook for Bitcoin
Despite the price fluctuations, analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s future. According to Kitco senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff, the current pause in Bitcoin’s price is not bearish and suggests that the bulls are preparing for another upward move in the near term. Analysts on crypto Twitter also dismissed the SEC announcement as FUD and encouraged holders to remain calm.
Altcoin Market Surge
The altcoin market experienced a bullish day, with 18 tokens in the top 200 recording double-digit gains. ‘Dino coins’ saw some of the largest increases due to rising institutional interest. Notably, eCash (XEC) recorded the largest gain of 52.82% to trade at $0.000036, followed by Horizen (ZEN) with a gain of 30.7% and Litecoin (LTC) with a gain of 25%.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
The overall cryptocurrency market cap currently stands at $1.19 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance rate at 49.5%.
