Market Update

Bitcoin At 10-Week Highs As Memecoin Mania Ramps

3 minutes 22 days ago

Bitcoin
BTC
PRICE (14D)
$101,309.00
(14.7%)
Ethereum
ETH
PRICE (14D)
$3,915.00
(12.9%)
Solana
SOL
PRICE (14D)
$231.90
(13.7%)
Prices in AUD and as of 8:00am AEDT on Oct. 17, 2024

Key Takeaways

  • Bitcoin (BTC) has risen above $100,000 for the first time since early August. At the same time, BTC dominance has climbed to its highest level (58.7%) in 3.5 years as altcoins continue to underperform as a collective.
  • BTC’s move higher coincides with all-time highs being recorded elsewhere in traditional markets, including gold, the ASX 200 and the three major U.S. stock indices.
  • Memecoins continue to capture the market’s attention and liquidity. There are now 19 memecoins in the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap, more than quadruple the number from this time last year.

Bitcoin Back Above $100,000

After trading in the $90,000s for most of the past month, BTC returned above $100,000 for the first time since August 2 during the week. It was also the first time since early August that BTC’s price closed above its 200-day moving average (MA) on consecutive days. The 200-day MA is widely considered an important long-term trend indicator.

This recent push higher comes at a time when all-time highs are being recorded outside of the crypto market. For example, gold has continued printing record highs this week, as has Australia’s largest stock index—the ASX 200—and the three major U.S. stock indices—the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite.


Bitcoin Dominance Continues Climbing

Bitcoin dominance—which measures BTC’s market cap as a percentage of the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies—hit 58.7% this week, its highest level since March 2021. To be sure, there remain no signs of an imminent ‘altcoin season’, a period where altcoins outperform BTC over an extended period, causing BTC dominance to decline.


Which Altcoins Are Bucking The Trend?

While altcoins overall have continued to trail BTC, as indicated by rising BTC dominance, a select few have managed to post a strong couple of weeks. As per the below chart, Worldcoin (WLD), Aptos (APT) and Celestia (TIA) have stood out since October 2, increasing by 41.3%, 30.8% and 20.6%, respectively.


Same Same, But Different

Despite this current bull market feeling unique for various reasons (e.g. relatively high interest rates, the sheer number of available altcoins), BTC’s price action has been rather similar to the two most recent bull markets.

As per the chart below from _checkonchain, it has been 694 days since BTC’s cycle low of approximately $23,700 ($15,800 USD) on November 23, 2022. Since then, BTC has increased by approximately 320%, a similar percentage gain compared to the previous two market cycles at this stage since cycle lows.


Memecoin Momentum Continues

Never before have so many memecoins—19 in total—occupied the list of the top 200 cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to CoinGecko. Recent additions to this list include Neiro (NEIRO) and Turbo (TURBO).

The below chart illustrates just how far memecoins have grown in recent times. This time last year, in October 2023, only four memecoins were in the top 200. Can memecoins keep the momentum going?


Disclaimer -
This content is for informational purposes and not financial advice. We recommend doing your own research.

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