Cointelegraph
Jordan Finneseth
Written by Jordan Finneseth,Former Staff Writer
Alex Cohen
Reviewed by Alex Cohen,Former Staff Editor

Altcoins pop while Bitcoin looks for support near $50,000

Bitcoin bulls struggle to push BTC price above $50,000, while ADA, MATIC and other large-cap altcoins realize double-digit gains.

Altcoins pop while Bitcoin looks for support near $50,000
Market Update

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to look for direction, but as this occurred, Ether (ETH) and altcoins bounced higher from the Thursday sell-off. Dogecoin (DOGE) shocked investors with its 47% rally that kicked off after Coinbase announced that it would list DOGE in the coming months. DOGE’s price also rallied after Elon Musk tweeted that he was “working with Doge devs to improve system transaction efficiency. Potentially promising.”

While many altcoins have seen double-digit gains during the recovery, the price of Bitcoin has continued to languish near the $50,000 level as whale wallets containing at least 1,000 BTC have declined by 4.7% compared to the previous month, indicating possible profit taking or a rotation into different assets.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that while the Bitcoin recovery has been muted, demand for Ether led to an 18% rally as the altcoin notched an intraday high at $4,173 on Friday.

ETH/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

Gains in the top altcoin come amid mixed fundamental developments, with data from Glassnode showing that wallets holding at least 32 ETH have been steadily declining in recent months, which suggests that fewer people are interested in becoming “full validators” for the network’s upcoming proof-of-stake blockchain.

Altcoins rally higher

While the debate about whether or not the market is officially experiencing an altseason rages on, one of its trademark characteristics is a sideways trading Bitcoin that leads to traders refocusing their attention on the altcoin market and leading to a decline in Bitcoin dominance.

Percentage of total market capitalization dominance. Source: CoinMarketCap

One of the breakout stars of 2021 is Polygon (MATIC), which has seen its price rally 60% over the past 24-hours to reach a new record high at $1.75.

Another project whose price surged 45% from the lows on Thursday is iExec RLC (RLC), a decentralized cloud computing network that got a boost of adrenaline earlier in the week after Coinbase revealed that it would list the token.

Other notable performances include an 80% increase in the price of Ergo (ERG) and a 48% increase in the price of Sora (XOR), which lifted the token’s price back above $800.

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360

The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.307 trillion, and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 40.3%.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.