The crypto markets rallied on Saturday to end the week on a moderate incline. The bitcoin price headlined the advance with a leap back to $3,800, but the ethereum price progressed at an even more impressive rate. Altogether, more than 90 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies made positive movement, helping lift the total cryptocurrency market cap back above $130 billion.
The total crypto market cap began the day at about $123.7 billion following a fairly significant slide earlier in the week. The market cap steadily climbed as the day progressed, eventually reaching a current value of $131.7 billion–a daily increase of about 6%.
Bitcoin Price Breaks Past $3,800
The bitcoin price slipped close to the $3,500 threshold on Friday as the markets continued to sort out the ramifications of China’s hostile posture toward cryptocurrency trading. However, defying JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s allegation that it is “worth nothing,” the bitcoin price began to tick up later in the day, eventually breaking past $3,800 early Saturday morning. At present, the bitcoin price is trading at a global average of $3,802, which gives bitcoin a $63 billion market cap and represents both a 24-hour and 7-day increase of 5%.
Ethereum Price Jumps 9%
The ethereum price outpaced bitcoin on Friday, scaling the charts with ease for a 9% daily increase. Since last Saturday, the ethereum price has advanced 14%, raising its market cap to $26.8 billion. Ethereum is now trading at $283, placing it within striking distance of the $300 threshold.
Dash Leads the Altcoin Pack
Down-the-chart coins tracked with the trajectory of bitcoin and ethereum, so the vast majority of coins ended the week on a positive note.
The bitcoin cash price rose 2% for the week, enabling its market cap to edge across the $7 billion mark. Ripple rose 4% for the day but ended the week essentially stable at $0.178.
Dash and litecoin both posted moderate gains on Saturday, rising 5% and 8%, respectively. This enabled litecoin to climb back to just under $50 after dipping as low as $45 the day before.
Nevertheless, litecoin’s 7-day return was just 1%, so it could not keep up with Dash’s 22% surge. Dash now controls the 5th place ranking and retains a $56 million edge on litecoin, which now ranks 6th.
NEM climbed 8% this week, putting its market cap within striking distance of $2 billion, while the IOTA price soared nearly 14% in the past day alone. Ethereum classic rose 7% for the day and 5% for the week, helping its market cap recover back to $1 billion.
Monero, now ranked 9th, was the only top 10 cryptocurrency to post a noticeable weekly decline. Despite rising 7% on Saturday, Monero ended the week with a 5% deficit and is currently trading at $91.
Ethereum Makes Up Ground
This week did not bring any monumental changes in market cap distribution, but there was one shift worth noting. Following the weekend rally, Bitcoin’s share of the total market cap dropped about one-half of a percent and now sits at 48%. Ethereum, on the other hand, saw its hold on the market rise by 1%, bringing its share to a present size of 20%.