Top cryptocurrencies rise on market optimism

Optimism in Bitcoin also strengthened after several TradFi firms filed Bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. last month, indicating confidence in the token and in the digital assets sector

Bitcoin rose on Tuesday to above the $30,000 level. Top cryptocurrencies firmed during the last 24 hours on market anticipations of a rally in Bitcoin prices by end of this year. Polygon, Solana and BNB were the biggest gainers.

Bitcoin added 1.42 per cent to $30,540, but has declined 1.19 per cent over the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data. The world’s largest token dropped after gaining as much as $31,026 during the past 24 hours. During the same period, Bitcoin’s market cap has increased 1.48 per cent to nearly $593 billion.

Bitcoin rose after Standard Chartered bank said the token is likely to hit $50,000 by the end of 2023 and $120,000 at the end of next year, according to Reuters on Tuesday.

Optimism in Bitcoin also strengthened after several traditional finance (TradFi) firms, including BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco and Bitwise, filed Bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. last month, indicating confidence in the token and in the digital assets sector.

Going by the traditional price patterns of Bitcoin, the bull run could come in 2025 or late 2024 after the next halving in 2024, Rajagopal Menon, VP of WazirX, India’s biggest crypto exchange, told Forkast.

TradFi institutions have entered crypto in large numbers and even though they have not improved spot trading volume on exchanges, futures and options trading have seen an uptrend, he said.

Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, advanced 1.45 per cent to $1,883, but shed 3.41 per cent on the week.

It really was about as bad as it could have been for the crypto market in 2022. And 2023 has, so far, been marked by the U.S. SEC stepping up oversight in the digital asset sector, Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The fact, then, Bitcoin has advanced 80 per cent already this year, putting it on track for its best yearly performance since 2020, and that Ethereum prices are also 52 per cent higher so far this year, is truly impressive, he said.

Polygon’s Matic token advanced the most among the top cryptocurrencies, gaining 9.43 per cent to $0.742 during the past 24 hours, bringing its weekly gains to 5.11 per cent. The higher prices come as Polygon Labs announced its Polygon 2.0 roadmap on June 30, vowing to become the “Value Layer of the Internet.”

Solana and BNB also led gains, both increasing more than 6 per cent during the past 24 hours. Solana added 6.8 per cent to $22.11, and 15.66 per cent on the week.

BNB, the native token of world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance, advanced 6.22 per cent to $247.20, and 0.83 per cent during the past seven days.