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The cryptocurrency market cap came strikingly close to its all-time high on Tuesday. This rally has been altcoin-driven and as the price of Bitcoin continues to struggle to get past $14,000, the flagship cryptocurrency’s market share has reached a historic low.
According to analysts, a bearish breakout from here would take Bitcoin price back to $11000. On the other hand, if BTC holds in the current area, $16000 looks like a clear target.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $13,800, posting a market cap of $249 billion. Notably, Bitcoin’s market share is now at a historic low. After boasting a dominant 68% stake in the market recently, Bitcoin now only accounts for just 36% of the total cryptocurrency market cap.
The entire cryptocurrency market cap climbed a combined $30 billion, bringing the cryptocurrency market cap to $642 billion. This represented a single-day increase of 5% and placed the cryptocurrency market cap at $650 billion.
Altcoins like Ripple and Ethereum continued the upward momentum. ETH/USD pair rallied by 15% to set a new all-time high above $900. Other notable mentions include XRB, NEO, and LTC that gained value in the past 24 hours.
At this level, Ethereum is worth just $5.4 billion less than Ripple, meaning that a relative increase of 7% should be sufficient to restore Ethereum’s status as the second-most valuable cryptocurrency.
Altcoins have started the year with a bang. It remains to be seen how far this rally goes, and if Bitcoin will once again come in as a party pooper and get back its market dominance.
Top Stories from the Crypto World
1. Putin investigating ‘CryptoRuble’ to avoid western sanctions
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has reportedly commissioned Russian officials to work on developing a national cryptocurrency dubbed the “cryptorouble.”
Sergei Glazev, an economic adviser to the president, told a government meeting that the cryptocurrency would serve as a “useful tool” to evade western economic sanctions.
“This instrument suits us very well for sensitive activity on behalf of the state. We can settle accounts with our counterparties all over the world with no regard for sanctions.” Glazev explained.
2. NiceHash CEO quits after 4,000 BTC hack
After Slovenian mining service NiceHash relaunched their platform on Dec 22, local news media reported original CEO Marko Kobal had left, himself confirming on LinkedIn:
“As you are aware, since the recent security breach we at NiceHash have been working round the clock to rebuild our internal systems as well as a management structure. I shall now stand aside and allow new management to lead the organization through its next, exciting period of growth – therefore I decided to resign as CEO of NiceHash.”
The total spoils from the NiceHash hack reached 4,000 BTC. Surprisingly, despite the severity of the attack, Kobal appeared confident the service would continue to operate in the same capacity.
3. No Bitcoin trading ban planned, says Malaysian minister
Malaysia’s second finance minister, Johari Abdul Ghani, emphasized the importance of “striking a balance between public interest and integrity of the financial system,” adding that to ban cryptocurrencies would harm fintech innovation.
Johari added that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the country’s central bank, will in future ensure cryptocurrency exchanges conduct customer due diligence and report suspicious transactions.
“It is not the intention of the authorities to ban or put a stop to any innovation that is perceived to be beneficial to the public,” Johari told the news source.