Bitcoin Is Up More Than 21%

Bitcoin, the world’s largest crypto by market capitalization, increased 21.7% from January 11 to January 18, trading at $21,212 in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Ether gained 18% in the same period, trading at USD 1,576.

With Bitcoin now above the $21,000 mark, its benchmark cryptocurrency has returned to its pre-FTX exchange collapse price level. BTC prices have since fallen, with the coin currently trading at US$20,935 at 4.30 p.m. on Friday in Hong Kong.

According to Chris Bradbury, CEO of DeFi capital management protocol Oasis, inflation in developed countries may have peaked, which is the primary driver for crypto and traditional markets. “The feeling also appears to be that the expected recession this year will be less severe than previously thought,” he said in an email response to questions.

Bitcoin and Ether are rallying due to bullish momentum in traditional markets. “Bitcoin, like most crypto assets, is still heavily correlated and priced like tech stocks, and most of these have also increased in the last few weeks, but crypto prices often move at an exaggerated rate.”

Solana’s native token was the biggest gainer among the top ten non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies this week, rising 39.3% on the weekly chart to US$22.

For the first time since November 8, the global crypto market cap surpassed $1 trillion on January 15. Bitcoin’s market cap of $409 billion currently accounts for 39.86% of the total market cap, while Ether accounts for 18.5%.

Metaverse Tokens Gain

This week, Decentraland’s MANA increased by 71.1% to US$0.69. According to CoinGecko data, this represented the largest weekly gains in the entire crypto market. SAND, the native token of the Sandbox, increased by 42.3% to US$0.742.

The larger digital and technological ecosystem’s new buzzword is the metaverse, and related tokens benefit from this. The appeal of the underlying tokens has increased this year because many investors think that metaverse protocols will be a significant entry point into Web3 for billions of people.

Despite last year’s events shattering trust in centralized crypto companies and the broader crypto industry, Bitcoin’s 23% gain in the week ending January 15 represents its best weekly performance since February 2021.

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