Crypto markets reach 2019 high; Ethereum way out ahead at the moment, Bitcoin still climbing, XLM and ETC going strong.

Market Wrap

Contrary to growing analyst opinion, crypto markets continue upwards and new 2019 highs are being made. There has been no major pullback as yet and total market capitalization has reached its highest level since mid-November as it exceeded $185 billion. Bitcoin is still leading the way as it reached an intraday high of just over $5,300 a few hours ago. A small correction to $5,280 has occurred which has added 2.5% to BTC prices over the past 24 hours. From this point a second surge up to $6k does not look that far away and the bulls are still in control.

Ethereum is currently the dominant force driving markets at the moment. In a long awaited upswing ETH surged over 10% from $165 to $185 before a slight pullback to $183. It is currently at a pivotal point facing looming resistance at the 200 day moving average. Daily volume is up to $9 billion which is the highest it has been for Ethereum for well over a year.

The top ten is a mixed affair at the moment but the big two are clearly leading the way. Stellar is having a good run with 6% added on the day taking XLM to $0.134 and very close to BNB in seventh spot. Litecoin has retreated a little dropping 2.5% but it remains over $90 which is triple its January first price.

Top twenty action is also mixed during the day’s Asian trading session. Ethereum Classic is building on yesterday’s pump with another 8% on the day to reach $7.45. NEM is back in the big twenty with 6% added and Monero is making a move with 5% on the day.

FOMO: Verge Making a Comeback

Not much has been heard from the XVG camp since the epic pump and dump over a year ago but it is today’s top one hundred altcoin. The 17% surge appears to be another pump and dump though as there is very little on the team’s social media feeds to explain it. Binance has most of the trade at around 60%. Nano is also getting a good dose of fomo at the moment as it adds 16%. Getting dropped is Maximine Coin again, the worst performer in the top one hundred losing 8% on the day. Bytom comes in second with a 6% slide but there are no major losers at the time of writing.

Total crypto market cap has hit a new high for the year of just over $185 billion. The near five month high puts prices back at mid-November levels signaling that markets may be over the worst. Since January 1, total market cap has expanded by 48%, or $60 billion, and the bears are keeping quiet for the moment.

Market Wrap is a section that takes a daily look at the top cryptocurrencies during the current trading session and analyses the best-performing ones, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.