Bitcoin’s 14% Weekly Increase Eyes the ATH: The Crypto Weekly Market Update

Ignoring all known rules of gravity, Bitcoin has taken for the skies, and it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. This week the cryptocurrency is up by another 14% and is currently trading just about 6% below its all-time high of around $20,000 reached in December 2017.

The week started off fairly calmly, and some were even thinking that there is a correction incoming. This wasn’t the case, as right after the weekend, BTC started moving… up. It breached its former high on Wednesday and managed to break that record again today, hitting an intraweek high of around $18,850 on Binance.

The entire market cap reached $520 billion as all major cryptocurrencies are well in profit. Some of the most notable gainers include Litecoin, up 27%, Ripple up 21%, Polkadot, up 18%, and so forth.

It remains very interesting to see whether or not the current rally will go on or if there is a correction looming. So far, however, odds seem stacked in favor of the bulls.

DeFi markets also saw substantial increases over the past seven days. A wide range of tokens, including Sushi, Aave’s LEND, Compound, CRV, Yearn Finance’s YFI, and so forth, are charting double-digit increases throughout the past week.

Elsewhere, Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin spoke of the upcoming network upgrade, hinting that the transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) might not actually occur for another year. While the ETH 2.0 depositor contract is live and has already seen more than 100,000 ETH going in, the network’s creator said that “less than a year is not realistic” when it comes to the merging.

In any case, this has been a very eventful week, and it’s very exciting to see how the market will shape up in the coming days. After all, we are so close to the all-time high!

Market Data

Market Cap: $521B | 24H Vol: 147B | BTC Dominance: 66%

BTC: $18,600 (+14.54%) | ETH: $508.20 (+8.20%) | XRP: $0.319(+20.84%)

Bitcoin Is Not Jamie Dimon’s Cup Of Tea But Is There More To The Story? The CEO of the large multinational investment bank JP Morgan said that Bitcoin is not his preferred choice, though he would prefer cryptocurrencies that are properly regulated and backed. The billionaire referred to the increasing need for well-structured KYC and AML policies.

Ethereum Founder Buterin Hints at More Delays For ETH 2.0. The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, said that the network’s transition to the long-awaited proof-of-stake consensus algorithm might not take place for yet another year. He said that it’s not realistic to think that the merge will happen in less than a year.

After Buying Bitcoin at $800 in 2016, Mexico’s Second-Richest Man Doubles Down. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the second-richest man in Mexico, revealed that he had bought Bitcoin back in 2016 when the price was just $800. He now doubled-down on his praises for the cryptocurrencies, outlining the flaws of fiat currencies in Latin countries.

Last Time Bitcoin Broke $17K The Way To $20K ATH Was Quick. The last time Bitcoin broke the $17K level, it only took it six days to reach its current all-time high value of nearly $20,000 in December 2017. With the way things are going, it’s interesting to see if this time around will be any different.

500,000 BTC Worth $8.5 Billion Currently Owned By Grayscale. Grayscale Investments, the largest cryptocurrency investment fund, has revealed that it holds over half a million bitcoins under management. This represents roughly about 2.4% of the total supply of Bitcoin.

Can Blockchain Technology Eradicate Voting And Election Issues? MIT Says No. According to specialists from MIT, blockchain technology is not a suitable solution for conducting elections. They said that it would compromise the transparency, as well as the sanctity of the electoral process.

Charts

This week we have a chart analysis of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and Polkadot – click here for the full price analysis.