Cryptocurrency markets continued their modest gains on Thursday, with Bitcoin and Ether prices rising 3% in the past 24 hours. Major cryptocurrencies showed little movement, with XRP rising 3.3%, while Shiba Inu's SHIB rose 6%.
The move marked a recovery in the market that began last weekend after a sharp decline last month. The total market capitalization exceeded $2.12 trillion, an increase of 2.1% in the past 24 hours. Altcoins outpaced the growth of major cryptocurrencies, causing Bitcoin's dominance index to decline by 0.4 percentage points to 39.6%.
The altcoin rally was led by FLOW, the token of the gaming network Flow. The token soared 11% on Thursday after a mobile gaming app using the network received official approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to develop games based on the Beijing Winter Games, according to reports.
Some analysts said they saw institutional demand as Bitcoin prices recovered from less than $35,000 to more than $45,000 over the past week.
“The benchmark cryptocurrency remains in demand after rallying above its 50-day moving average,” FxPro analyst Alex Kuptsikevich wrote in an email to CoinDesk. “This confirms that the downward trend of the past three months has been broken.
“According to CoinShares, institutional investors have invested in crypto funds for the third consecutive week. On the intraday chart, buying was seen at the close of US trading, clearly indicating institutional interest in the region. ,” Kupczykevich said.
A moving average (MA) is a price chart indicator that uses historical prices to calculate and identify an asset's trend direction. Bitcoin crossed the 50-day moving average at the $42,500 price level earlier this week and has been trading above it ever since. If this price movement continues, it would signal strength for Bitcoin and push Bitcoin towards $49,000.
Bitcoin's RSI (relative strength index) value has remained at a good level. “The RSI indicator on the daily chart is currently at 61, which is still far from the overbought zone, confirming that the market is still far from overheating,” Kupczykevich said.
The price chart tool calculates the magnitude of price changes, with readings above 70 considered “overbought” and below 30 considered “oversold”, which can precede a change in trend.
In financial news, reports say the Bank of England's quantitative easing program, which helped maintain asset prices in the wake of the coronavirus, is set to post a $4.1 billion loss. Meanwhile, in India, the country's central bank governor Shaktikanta Das likened cryptocurrencies to the 17th century Dutch tulip bulb market bubble.
“Investors in cryptocurrencies should keep in mind that they are investing at their own risk. They should also keep in mind that cryptocurrencies are not backed by even a tulip,” Das said. said Thursday. Earlier this month, India proposed imposing a 30% tax on crypto remittances within the country.
