(Kitco News) – The cryptocurrency market soared higher on Monday, led by Bitcoin, which took off like a rocket to start the week, beginning with a bullish run that saw the top crypto climb from $47,941 at 9 am EST all the way up to $50,000 two hours later.
By 4:30 pm EST, Bitcoin was holding well above the 50k level, last trading at $50,112.08, up over 3.7% on the session.
Equity markets were calmer than crypto, with stocks trading mixed on Monday following last week’s new record highs. At the closing bell, the S&P and Nasdaq finished in the red, down 0.09% and 0.30% respectively, while the Dow managed to gain 0.33% on the day.
Bitcoin bucks consolidation expectations
Bitcoin’s breakout rally has the cryptosphere abuzz, as many were predicting a prolonged period of consolidation ahead of the halving in April, while others pointed to the growing impact of positive ETF flows as the catalyst for the rally.
“It’s official,” wrote analyst Rekt Capital on X. “The Pre-Halving Downside period is over.”
It’s official
The Pre-Halving Downside period is over
The Pre-Halving Rally phase has begun$BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/8RVRx2wNIT
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) February 12, 2024
“No big correction coming. This is pre-halving accumulation,” wrote Stockmoney Lizards, and shared the following chart of Bitcoin’s projected performance ahead of April.
Bitcoin magazine, for their part, had fun with the failed predictions of Bitcoin’s firm resistance.
$50,000 is the next victim. #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/BQ0ixMwyUA
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) February 12, 2024
“Bears on life support rn,” posted the Kraken Exchange in a demonstration that brevity remains the essence of wit.
Altcoin market rides the Bitcoin rocket higher
Bitcoin’s big move was a boon to the altcoin market, with cryptos presenting traders with a sea of green ticker symbols on Monday.
Beam (BEAMX) led the field with a gain of 17.75%, followed by Ordinals (ORDI), which rose by 14.99%, and Immutable X (IMX), which gained 11.76% on the day.
Flare (FLR) and Jupiter Space Station (JUP) were the only tokens in the top 100 to see significant drops, declining by -2.63% and -0.85% respectively.
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $$1.88T, representing a 3.53% increase over the last 24 hours, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 52.2%.
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