The complete overview of the latest events on the crypto markets. Everything about the past week in the Bitcoin markets summarised in the market commentary by the CVJ.CH editorial team.
Market commentary
Bitcoin (BTC) has posted a green weekly close for five consecutive weeks. Such a pattern was last seen during the 2021 summer rally. The driving force behind the rally remains the anticipation of a spot-based Bitcoin ETF. However, some consolidation in the markets is likely to be beneficial. Bitcoin is currently at a strong historical resistance zone at $38,000 and has not experienced a significant correction since August.
The outlook for the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, Ether (ETH), remains somewhat gloomy. Since the long-awaited transition to proof of stake ("The Merge") in September 2022, Ether has consistently lost ground against bitcoin. The ratio between the two assets (ETH/BTC) recently hit an annual low of 0.051. The price is now stabilising in this range.
The weak price reaction to BlackRock's filing for an Ether ETF a week and a half ago was notable. On Friday, Fidelity, the world's third largest asset manager, followed with its own application. While the price of Bitcoin reacted immediately to the announcement in June, Ether has been relatively sluggish. The market seems to be pricing in a lower probability of a quick approval for the Ether product.
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Solana: the market's favourite
One of the best performing alternative crypto assets ("Altcoins") in recent months has been Solana (SOL). Since mid-October, the native cryptocurrency of the smart contract network has surged +175%. Solana stands out as an Ethereum competitor, mainly due to its very fast transaction times and low fees. By the end of 2024, developers aim to reach several hundred thousand transactions per second (TPS).
With this favourable environment for applications, a robust DeFi (decentralised finance) and NFT (non-fungible token) ecosystem has developed in recent years. The involvement of convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried put significant pressure on the price during the exchange's collapse. Solana has now recovered from this price loss and reached a new annual high.
Smart contract sector profits from Solana rally
The significant rise in the price of the Layer-1 network is also benefiting other cryptocurrencies in the same sector. Last week, the two smart contract blockchains Avalanche (AVAX) (+37.67%) and Cardano (ADA) (+9.05%) were the weekly winners among the top 20, alongside Solana. Near Protocol (NEAR), a slightly smaller competitor in terms of market capitalisation, was also up by +35.03%. The moderate rise in Dogecoin (DOGE), +8.03%, suggests a general increase in risk appetite.
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